With You
by Pride of a Saiyan
Summary: With you is now completed! Please let me know what you think! Personally, I consider Weak as I am a better story. I'm curious to find out what YOU think... Lots of reviews will result in the final part of the trilogy! Suggestions are welcome!
1. Mirai Trunks returns

Author's Warning: This is yaoi! If you don't like it, please don't hurt yourself by reading it! This is the long awaited sequel to '_Weak as I am_'. Enjoy! 

**With You**

**Chapter 1 – Mirai Trunks returns**

Vegeta wakes up with a start, wondering what's wrong. Next to him is Kakarot, sleeping soundly. A warm smile forms on his face as he watches his mate sleep. How long since their bonding night? Three weeks? It feels like ages ago. He curls up to Kakarot, who immediately reacts by embracing Vegeta.

'Can't sleep?'

'Something woke me up, I guess. Nothing important.'

'Well, since we're awake now…'

Goku doesn't have to finish his thought. Vegeta's hands are already roaming his body, leaving sparkling ki trails everywhere.

"Vegetaahh…"

Somewhere, in another dimension, someone finally loses it. All hope, all belief that he's in the right place vanishes after the androids are gone. The world regains its posture and people start to rebuild what was destroyed. He is the last of the Saiyan race, everyone else has died. His loneliness is eating him alive, still he can't get his hands to charge up and end his now useless life. His mother tried to talk to him, but he's turned his back. How can she possibly understand how he feels?

His hands hold a picture of Vegeta, his father. He stares at it, tears blurring his vision.

"Vegeta," he whispers hoarsely. "I _need_ you…"

His tail lashes out restlessly. The stone inside his chest seems to grow larger and larger, urging him to action. The thought he's been playing with for so long, takes shape inside his mind. He can't bear to live in this world any longer. He'll go to the other dimension, where his father remains. He has to run from those feelings, which are so strong he blacks out from time to time. He runs to the monitor inside his mother's lab for the last time. There, he can see into their world. He can see his father… and Goku. His fists clench at his sides as he watches them mate.

"Fuck you, Goku. He's _mine,_" he growls.

"Trunks?"

He was so preoccupied with what was happening on the screen that he never heard his mother enter.

"Honey, what are you doing? Are you _spying_ on them?" She crosses her arms over her chest, subconsciously copying her late husband.

Trunks' eyes narrow as he glares at his mother.

"That's none of your business," he growls.

"Hell yes it is! Trunks, you have to stop doing this to yourself! You live in this world, not in theirs!"

"Well, I'm about to change that," he snarls, shoving Bulma aside and running towards the time machine.

"Trunks, NO! Please don't do this!" Lying helplessly on the floor, Bulma stretches out her hand to her son. Too late. Trunks already left.

Life has been peachy for Goku and Vegeta since they first mated. No villains, no concerns.

During their early morning spar, when Goku uses a flashy attack, Vegeta comments: "We're getting used to peace, Kakarot. In times of trouble, you'd never use an attack like that."

"Guess I've been hanging out with the boys too much lately," Goku grins. "The things they come up with are outrageous at times. They make me laugh though."

"Those brats belong in a circus," Vegeta growls playfully. "We'll soon join them as we keep this up." He fazes out and reappears behind Goku's back, hammering him down into the ground.

"OW! Damn it Vegeta, that hurt!"

"See what I mean? We're getting old, Kakarot. Maybe we should retire."

"Baka." Goku fazes out as well, but doesn't reappear.

'Hide and seek, huh?' Vegeta switches to telepathy. 'Give it your best shot.'

'I already did.' Goku reappears and points down.

"What the hell is that?" Vegeta asks, uncertain about the attack. He looks down on what appears to be some kind of liquid, swirling up to him like a tornado.

"Wait and see," Goku grins.

"Forget it," Vegeta says and fazes out. Taken by surprise, he looks down when he reappears. "What the…" The liquid whirlwind is still right underneath him, and before he can blink, it envelopes him, numbing him and restraining his ki. A series of curses emerges from Vegeta as he tries to fight off the liquid, to no avail.

"Kakarot! Get this shit off me!"

"I recall you just called me old." Goku smirks at Vegeta's rage.

"You're not old, baka! You just proved yourself!"

"Say the magic word, Vegeta," Goku teases.

"Fuck you!"

Goku shrugs. "That's an interesting suggestion as well." He lifts up his hands and clenches them together. The liquid disappears.

Vegeta falls down, powerless to stop himself. Goku catches him, grinning widely.

"What the hell was that?" Vegeta asks, trying to regain his power. He feels totally drained.

"Ki drain attack. It costs me a lot of energy to maintain it, though."

"Well, it sure was effective. I can barely walk!"

"So, you still think we should retire?"

"I think you should teach me that technique." Vegeta glares up.

"As soon as you've recovered, alright?" Goku looks down on his mate, enjoying the feel of Vegeta's weight in his arms. The feeling doesn't last long though. They sense it at the exact same moment. A strong ki has landed nearby.

Goku feeds some of his own ki into Vegeta, to help him recover.

"This ki seems familiar," Vegeta says. "But I can't place it."

"Let's go." Goku takes off with Vegeta on his heels.

They soon land near the Time Machine.

"Mirai Trunks," Goku says, surprised. "What the hell is he doing here?"

"Let's ask him," Vegeta suggests calmly.

They walk towards the Time Machine, but stop dead in their tracks as they see Mirai Trunks get out of the ship. His hands shiver as he climbs down.

'His ki feels totally messed up,' Goku shares his concern with Vegeta. 'He's either very sick or badly wounded.'

Vegeta frowns. He can't shake off the feeling that something is wrong. But Kakarot is right; his future son seems to be hurt.

'He needs help.' Vegeta takes off and lands beside Trunks, right in time to catch him. Just before he loses consciousness, Trunks whispers: "Vegeta… Finally…"

"Let's get him to Capsule Corp." Vegeta takes off into the sky, his future son in his arms.


	2. Just visiting?

**Chapter 2 – Just visiting?**

"And?" Vegeta taps his foot impatiently. Bulma is working on her future son, checking him for diseases or injuries.

"He's in bad shape, but I can't find any physical causes. I have no idea what's wrong with him." She takes off her gloves and tosses them into a trashcan.

"All I can say for now, is that he needs rest. That ought to help."

"When will he regain consciousness?" Goku asks. "We need to know why he's here. Chikyuu might be in danger again."

"We'll have to wait, Kakarot. I'm staying here." Vegeta sits down on a chair next to Trunks' bed.

"I'll stay with you, Vegeta. I have a weird feeling I can't explain." Goku puts his hand on Vegeta's shoulder.

"I'll check on you guys every once and a while," Bulma says. "But now I really need to get back to work. Like always, our own Trunks is nowhere to be found and I very much need his help today."

"You need him? He'll be there in five," Vegeta smirks and closes his eyes.

"Really? Thanks, Vegeta." Bulma smiles at her ex-husband and exits the room.

"What did you threaten to do to him this time?" Goku asks curiously.

"Not to him. To Goten." Vegeta leans back contently as he feels Trunks' ki approach Capsule Corp. rapidly.

"You sick bastard…"

"He needs to listen to his mother," Vegeta states. "Not buzz off whenever he feels like it. He has responsibilities."

"Hn," Goku grunts, copying his mate subconsciously.

"So," Vegeta says after a moment of silence, "what to make of this Future Brat situation? Why do we both sense trouble?"

"I have no clue whatsoever. Maybe he's come to warn us for future danger again."

"Hn," Vegeta snorts dismissively. "Look at him, Kakarot. He's barely aged. He must have left his dimension shortly after he destroyed the androids. Why would he travel so far into the future to warn us? It doesn't make sense."

"You've got a point there. So, no warning then. What other possibilities do we have?" Goku scratches the back of his head, thinking hard.

"Maybe he's just visiting," Vegeta ponders. "But his condition worries me. Why would Mirai Bulma let him use the Time Machine when he obviously wasn't feeling well?"

"Maybe there was some kind of emergency there," Goku guesses. "We'll wait. He'll wake up soon enough."

The sun is setting as Goten and Trunks burst into the room.

"Is it true? Is Mirai Me here again?" Trunks asks breathless.

"Wow…" Goten says as he checks out the silence form of Mirai Trunks lying in bed.

"He looks just like me," Trunks says. "Same age and all. Like a twin brother or something. Why is he in such bad shape?"

"We don't know, brats," Vegeta answers. "He arrived and passed out without having a chance to tell us the reason of his visit."

"Must be trouble on the way then," Goten states. Contrary to his ever-optimistic father, Goten always thinks the worst of every situation.

"Let's hope so," Trunks sighs. "Life's been super boring lately."

"Thirteen years of peace is too much for you, huh?" Goku says mockingly. "Bakas. We don't even know what's going on yet. It's probably nothing."

"Dismissed, brats. We'll let you know when he wakes up." Vegeta glares at them warningly to prevent any form of resistance from the young warriors.

"Alright," they say and leave unwillingly.

Mirai Trunks wakes up in the middle of the night, not recognizing his surroundings.

'Oh Kami, did I black out again?' he thinks to himself. 'No, I didn't.' He remembers his mother trying to stop him from using the Time Machine.

'I hurt her,' he thinks sadly. He doesn't experience any kind of guilt, though. 'She should have stayed out of it,' he thinks aggressively. Then he sits up and spots Vegeta, sleeping in a chair nearby the bed. Goku is close to him, curled up on the next bed.

A searing pain rips through his chest as he experiences their bond up close and personal.

'Kami damn it, why have I come here? There's no way I…'

Vegeta jolts up and grabs his chest. For a single moment, time seems to stop as Mirai Trunks looks directly in the dark eyes of his father. Their souls seem to collide and then simply fade into another. Seemingly from afar, Mirai Trunks hears Vegeta gasp for air. Goku immediately awakes and runs towards his mate.

"Vegeta? Are you okay?"

Vegeta manages to avert his eyes and clears his throat. "I'm fine, Kakarot. It seems our guest has awakened."

Trunks feels disappointment washing through him as Goku interferes between Vegeta and him.

"You gave us a scare, Trunks, arriving like this. Is there trouble in your dimension? Or in ours?" Goku looks at him intently, waiting for an answer.

"No trouble. I'm just visiting." He stares down at his hands. At least they're not trembling anymore. Vegeta's presence has a soothing effect on him.

"What's wrong with you, brat? The woman couldn't find a cause for your injuries." Vegeta looks at him like an eagle would eye a helpless little rabbit. Mirai Trunks feels his face tingle as he searches for the right answer.

"I don't know what's wrong with me," he says, a little ticked off. "All I know is that I feel worthless and need some strong warriors around me to compete with."

"I understand," Vegeta nods, accepting his explanation. "We're all gone in your dimension, and now that you've defeated the androids you need another challenge. You can stay at Capsule Corp. for as long as you wish. As soon as you feel better, we'll give you some decent training."

"Arigato, Vegeta," Mirai Trunks whispers. He yawns sleepily.

"Get some rest, brat," Vegeta says, ruffling Mirai's hair in a friendly manner. He fails to see the intense look Mirai gives him after that. His blue eyes are burning with raw emotion as the Saiyan Prince turns his back to him.


	3. Training

**Chapter 3 – Training**

Mirai Trunks heals fast. He's often visited by Goten and Trunks. Mirai Trunks turns out to be very interested in their fighting techniques and is stunned when they tell him about fusion.

"That is so awesome," he sighs. "If we had known earlier, Gohan and I could have tried that on the androids. He'd still be alive now."

"It must be hard to be the only one left," Trunks says, acknowledging his future self's pain.

"You have no idea," Mirai snarls. Then he makes a dismissive gesture. "Gomen. I've seen more hate than friendship in my dimension. Sometimes it gets to me and I lose control over the things I say."

"What about losing control over the things you do?" a dark voice asks from the doorway. Vegeta telepathically tells the brats to get lost. He approaches the bed as they leave.

"Well?" Vegeta stands beside his bed, demanding an answer.

Mirai is an inch away from losing control. Vegeta's eyes seem to be burning into his own.

'Tell me what you feel right now, boy.' Vegeta's voice echoes inside his head.

Mirai gasps for air. "Don't…"

'I need to know what you're up to, brat. You're hiding something from us.'

When Mirai hears Vegeta say 'us' instead of 'me', something inside of him snaps. He unleashes all his pain from the past years, channeling it into Vegeta's mind. Vegeta immediately retreats, grabbing his head.

"Kuso…" Vegeta slowly regains his composure.

"Stay out of my head, Vegeta. You have no right to be in there," Mirai Trunks growls threateningly.

Vegeta shakes his head as if to shake off the headache Mirai gave him.

"Fine. Keep your little secret. We'll find out eventually." Vegeta exits.

'Oh you will find out, Vegeta. And you won't like it.' Mirai clenches his fists.

No more incidents take place after that. Mirai Trunks has healed now, and trains on a daily basis with Goku, Trunks and Goten. Vegeta is present, but only to observe Mirai.

One day, Piccolo joins him at the 'sideline'.

'We haven't seen you in a while, green bean,' Vegeta says playfully, but with a grim undertone.

'Well, I tend to keep myself busy until I'm needed most.' Piccolo looks at Mirai Trunks. 'I sensed his screwed up ki and decided to drop by.'

'He arrived hurt, he's doing much better now,' Vegeta explains.

'You think?' Piccolo eyes Vegeta warily. 'Try to sense him at a deeper level, matchstick.'

Vegeta closes his eyes as he focuses on Mirai Trunks' ki.

'Nani?'

'Weird, huh?'

'He's… blank on a deeper level. I've never seen anything like that before.'

'Neither have I. It's normal that there are gaps, things that are private or too painful to share, but totally blank is just plain weird.'

'Thanks for your analysis, dr. Namek. What does this mean?'

'He's hiding something alright.'

'I knew that!' Vegeta thinks impatiently. 'How can we find out what it is?'

'Maybe someone should try and talk to him…'

'I can take a hint. I already tried once though.' Vegeta unleashes his memory from his little 'chat' with Mirai and feeds it into the telepathic link between Piccolo and himself.

'That's self-explanatory. Keep your distance, Vegeta. I'll go to Dende and ask for advice.'

Before Vegeta can nod to concur, Goten crashes down between them, hurt badly. Hovering over them, Mirai Trunks grins ferally, his eyes shining with delight. He seems to infinitely enjoy hurting Goku or any family member of his.

'You'd better hurry,' Vegeta thinks, obviously worried.

'Got it.' Piccolo takes off.

"You promised me a challenge, Vegeta. Where is it?" Mirai Trunks floats down to him, mocking him with his overconfident attitude.

Vegeta helps Goten up with one hand, never breaking eye contact with Mirai.

"Get yourself some senzu, brat." Vegeta calls out telepathically to his mate.

'Kakarotto…'

Goku appears in a split second. It only takes him a moment to see his son hurt and Mirai gloating about it. His eyes narrow as he powers up.

"Here's your challenge, brat. Enjoy it, for it won't last long."

Goku attacks immediately, this time he's not holding back. Vegeta called him here to punish Mirai. Vegeta might as well have done it himself, but since Goten is his mate's son he decided to leave the matter to Goku. Goku's face looks grim as he's forced to power up to SSJ2 to keep the upper hand.

'How the hell did he get so strong in such a short amount of time?' Goku thinks.

Mirai surprises him by powering up to SSJ2 as well.

"Nani?" Goku is stunned by what he sees. Alright, Gohan was only eleven when he achieved SSJ2, but Mirai is… different.

'I had to push Gohan so hard to get him there,' Goku thinks. 'It's like Mirai Trunks is pushing _himself_. To what purpose?'

Mirai attacks him with so much passion that it finally dawns on Goku. 'He wants to _kill_ me!'

'Power up to maximum, koi. There's no way he can keep up with that.' Vegeta advises him from the ground.

As Mirai Trunks' attacks grow more intense and dangerous, Goku no longer hesitates and powers up to max. His battle aura grows even bigger and brighter than before. He attacks Mirai Trunks head on and pummels him into the ground.

After the dust settles down, Mirai reappears… unscathed. Goku gasps in surprise, but Vegeta assures him: 'He's bluffing, Kakarot. Look deeper. He's hurt alright.'

'Is that what he did when he fought Frieza?' Goku wonders.

'I guess. Then he almost literally scared the damned lizard to death.'

Goku chuckles. 'He won't get to me that easily.'

Vegeta marvels at his mate's confidence. The fight continues, but it is one-sided now that Goku's seen through Mirai's trick. Mirai Trunks ends up beaten and bloody, stretched out on the ground. Goku grabs the remainder of his shirt and pulls back his fist to finish Mirai off with one last blow. His golden hair waves in the wind, dust whirls up from the scarred ground.

'Why does he take so long?' Vegeta watches anxiously, already approaching both fighters to see what's going on.

Then the unimaginable happens. Goku gasps in surprise, then lowers his clenched fist. Groaning, he collapses half on top of Mirai Trunks while transforming back to Saiyan form.


	4. Bonds

**Chapter 4 – Bonds**

Vegeta is there in an instant, kneeling down beside his mate, checking his ki. He sighs in relief as he finds that Goku is simply unconscious.

"What the _hell_ did you do?" he spits into Mirai's face. His eyes are burning with rage.

Mirai narrows his eyes, trying to blink away the blood that runs into it.

"I defended myself," he says hoarsely, then coughs up blood. "He was trying to kill me."

"Bullshit," Vegeta growls, grabbing Mirai's shirt and pulling him up. "All he intended was to punish you for hurting his son… and _liking_ it." He looks at Mirai accusingly.

"What's wrong with liking to beat up weaklings?" Mirai's eyes seem to darken. "Goten was no match for me. I made my point to him and that was it."

Vegeta is taken aback by that statement. 'It's like hearing myself talk three decades ago.'

"You used to be exactly like me, Vegeta. Don't be so overprotective. Goten will heal, and so will Kakarot."

Vegeta growls deep in his throat. "Since when did you start calling him that?"

"Why do you want to know?" Mirai glares up at him, his lavender hair half covering his eyes. Blood still trickles down his face.

Vegeta hisses between clenched teeth: "Because no one calls him that but _me_."

"So?" Mirai's eyes challenge him to react.

Vegeta is still highly pissed, but restrains himself and says in a very dark and threatening voice: "I don't know what you're up to, _kid_, but I suggest you pay some more respect to older, more experienced warriors. If you don't, you're no longer welcome in this dimension."

For a second, fear is showing in Mirai's eyes. Soon it's replaced by something else, as he realizes how close Vegeta's face is to his own. Lust. Ignoring his pain, he lifts up his head to get closer to Vegeta. Then it hits him: he's in no position to try and seduce Vegeta. He'd instantly kill him if he'd find out now. So instead he whispers: "You may be more experienced, but I just knocked out a SSJ3. Who should pay respect to whom?"

A ki ball grows in Vegeta's right hand and for a moment Mirai Trunks is convinced that he just signed his own death warrant. Then the ki dissolves in the gloved hand. Vegeta releases his iron grip on his shirt and Mirai's body hits the ground once more.

"I'll find out how you did that, brat, and more. Watch your back from now on. If I see so much as you _looking_ the wrong way at one of my friends, I'll make you wish you'd never been born."

"I wonder how," Mirai says mockingly, but Vegeta already turns his back to him to pick up his unconscious mate. Vegeta takes off, leaving Mirai Trunks behind. After leaning back for a minute, Mirai forms a multi-colored ki ball in the palm of his hand and massages his injuries with it. They don't vanish completely, but they do improve a lot. He blazes off towards the Time Machine.

"So what did Dende say?" Goku and Goten both took senzu and are fine again. They have assembled at Goku's house.

"We could have thought of it ourselves," Piccolo says. "We should get back to his dimension in the Time Machine and ask Mirai Bulma what the hell is going on with that kid."

"Any volunteers?" Krillin asks.

"It doesn't matter who goes," Vegeta states. "Mirai Trunks can defeat a Super Saiyan 3. Whoever wants to go can go."

"Say WHAT?" Yamcha shouts. "How can he be so strong?"

"We don't know either," Goku says, a little embarrassed. "He uses ki in a way I've never seen before. I don't know who taught him, but it can't have been Gohan. Or any of us for that matter."

"He probably traveled to other dimensions to acquire new fighting skills," Vegeta theorizes. "He was bored in his own dimension, he admitted that himself."

"But why is he here? What does he want?" Bulma asks.

"He's out seeking mayhem and destruction," Vegeta says coldly. "He _likes_ to hurt other people, even if it's clear that they are weaker than he is."

"Sounds familiar," Yamcha mutters under his breath. Big mistake. Vegeta appears in front of him in the blink of an eye.

"He _is_ my future counterpart's _son_," he hisses. "And yes, I used to have a tendency towards mayhem and destruction as well. Have you got a problem with that?"

"No sir," Yamcha hastily replies. "No problem at all."

"Good. I've seen enough blood for one day," Vegeta growls.

"I'll go to the other dimension," Goku offers. "Mirai Bulma will trust me."

"Are you leaving right away?" Krillin asks.

"I'll go at sunrise," Goku replies. "We've lost track of Mirai Trunks' ki. I guess it's best as we stay together tonight, since we don't know what Mirai's up to."

Vegeta shoots his mate a death glare as he makes this proposal.

'Baka. I feel no need to comfort these whining cowards all night.'

'They're scared, Vegeta. And to be honest, so am I. I have no idea what he did to me, but it was very effective.'

'I'd love to make you forget all about it, but you just canceled my opportunity of doing that.'

Goku flashes him a smirk. 'We'll catch up soon enough. I promise.'

During their little mind conversation, everybody agrees to stay over at Goku's for the night.

Nobody sleeps well that night…

Early in the morning, Goku and Vegeta take off towards the horizon. Mirai Trunks' ki is still nowhere to be found.

'He might have run back to his own dimension,' Goku thinks.

'No, he's hiding somewhere. I don't know, but I can feel his presence.'

'You've got some twisted family bond going on with him, don't you?'

Vegeta hesitates a moment before he answers. 'It's not a family bond I share with him, Kakarot.'

Goku stops midair. 'What do you mean?'

Vegeta shrugs. 'Saiyan bonding remains one of the most complicated things I've ever experienced. What you and I share, Kakarot, is known as a _deep bond_. We are compatible, because you changed into a submissive Saiyan and I remain a dominant one. _Pack bonds_ are formed when a Saiyan needs a partner for lust, comfort or whatever.'

'That's what you still share with Radditz.'

Vegeta looks at his mate. 'How do you know it still exists?'

'I can sense that. I don't care. He can never replace me.'

'You're quite right about that,' Vegeta chuckles. Then he frowns. 'But besides the obvious _family bond,_ there's another kind of bond. It's very rare, since it only occurs when two Saiyans share the same nature, the same character or soul so to say. It cannot coincide with a family bond though, otherwise it would happen very often since family share large parts of their genetics.'

'What is it called?'

'It's called a _devil's bond_, since both partners are very much alike and will probably end up destroying each other over some meaningless issue.'

'Sounds nice enough,' Goku comments sarcastically. 'So that's what you two share?'

'We both have the potential to bond that way, yes.'

'You should have told me sooner, Vegeta.'

'I wasn't sure enough. I had to verify this first, I didn't want to upset you over nothing.'

'So that's why he's here? Because he wants to bond with you?'

Vegeta nods hesitantly. 'That would explain why he arrived all messed up. Remember your own fever when I rejected you?'

Goku shivers. 'Don't remind me. I never want to feel like that again. Ever.'

Vegeta smiles sadly. 'I almost pity the boy now. To be seeking a devil's bond is a torture I wouldn't even wish Frieza to experience.'

Goku's eyes grow wide. 'Is it that bad?'

'Worse. Even I can't imagine how it must feel, after all I've been through. He must be completely insane.'

'In that case, I'd better hurry and get to Mirai Bulma for advice. Thanks for the information, Vegeta. This could turn out to be very helpful.'

While Goku boards the Time Machine, crystal blue eyes monitor Vegeta's every movement.


	5. Trouble

**Chapter 5 – Trouble**

As soon as Goku and the Time Machine vanished, Vegeta feels Mirai's predator gaze tingling on his back.

'Come out, boy. I know you're there.' Vegeta crosses his arms and waits. After a few moments, he hears leaves rustling and Mirai Trunks stumbles down the hill behind him.

'I know what you're after now, kid. Get over here.'

Mirai approaches him, uncertain what to expect. His eyes are hazy and unfocused. His hands tremble at his sides, his breathing is ragged and irregular.

'Don't be afraid, Trunks.' Vegeta stretches out his hand and places it on Mirai Trunks' cheek. They instantly feel how their souls connect. Mirai's is confused and lost, Vegeta's is guiding and confident. After what seem to be endless minutes, Mirai Trunks sighs as if the weight of the world has been lifted off of his shoulders. He opens his eyes again and finds Vegeta sitting next to him.

"Where the hell am I? Am I dead?" he asks confused.

"You're very much alive, Trunks. But I'm afraid you've been missing out on some stuff recently."

"Am I… in another dimension again?"

"You are. You came to us, injured and hurting, seeking something. Tell me what you can remember."

"I remember…" Mirai's eyes grow wide. He clenches his fists at his sides, whispering: "That can't be true."

"What do you see?" Vegeta asks.

"It's too horrible to say," Mirai says with a broken voice.

"Come here," Vegeta says, putting their foreheads together. A shiver runs down his spine as he watches Mirai butchering one prostitute after another in his own timeline, seeking satisfaction for his burning desire.

'That wasn't me…' Mirai cries inside his mind. 'Oh Kami, that wasn't me…'

'Is there more?' Vegeta continues his search inside Mirai's head.

'Vegeta… onegai… don't do this to me. There are memories and thoughts in here that I _don't_ want you to see.'

'I can help you, Trunks, but only if you let me. I won't hold any of this against you, I promise. Kami knows I have thought of fouler things and have committed more disgusting and terrible crimes than you could ever imagine.'

Still hesitating, Mirai opens up the gates to his inner thoughts. Vegeta stays under for a long time, then opens his eyes again.

"We can fix this," he says bluntly. "But it's going to be hell for you again."

"I don't care," Mirai Trunks replies. "As long as it stops…"

"We'll make it stop."

Back at Capsule Corp, Bulma starts examining Mirai for anything deviant. Vegeta tells her what to look for.

"There it is," Bulma cries out triumphantly. "If you hadn't told me I'd never have found it."

"It masks itself, woman. It doesn't _want_ to be found. Can you fix this?"

"Sure, no problem. I'll have an antidote ready in a few hours."

"Finally," Mirai Trunks sighs.

A few hours later, Mirai Trunks receives his antidote. He falls asleep right away, to wake up about an hour later, screaming Vegeta's name.

Vegeta runs to the side of his bed, grabbing his hand and trying to calm him down with his ki.

"Kami damn it… It hurts Vegeta, IT HURTS!" Mirai's body contracts violently, Vegeta feels the bones in his hand break under the pressure and grunts.

"O… onegai… make… it… STOP!" Mirai Trunks starts powering up to fight off the agony.

"TRUNKS! Don't power up! I don't care how intense the pain is, DON'T POWER UP!" Vegeta's hand is still crushed by Mirai.

"I… can't… resist… it… Vegeta… Kuso…" Mirai Trunks' hair flashes gold for an instant.

"I can't hold on any longer Vegeta! Run! Get… out…"

Vegeta feels how Mirai releases his hand. He has no choice. Pinpointing his family's ki, he takes off and ITs them all into safety. They reappear on the Lookout.

"What the hell did you give him woman?" Vegeta asks breathless. "Picked out the wrong syringe or something?"

"I didn't… I have no idea what happened."

"Neither do I. I'll check things out." Vegeta is about to run to the edge of the Lookout, as he feels a hand on his arm.

"Let me heal you first," Dende offers wisely.

"Hn. Make it quick, Namek, we don't have all day."

Vegeta soon plummets towards the ground and sets course for Capsule Corp. His fear becomes reality as he watches a Saiyan emerge from the ruins that used to be Capsule Corp. A Saiyan with long, gold hair and no eyebrows.

"Shimatta!"

Mirai Trunks looks up to his prey, smirking evilly.

'Let's play catch.'

Vegeta doesn't even have time to power up or to block the attack. Before he knows what hits him, he feels chains lock tightly around his wrists. His ki vanishes instantly and he falls down from the sky. He hits the ground hard and almost loses consciousness.

"Guess I'm not very good at playing 'catch'," Mirai Trunks says cruelly. "I'm sorry, I totally forgot that ki restraints would make you… _fall_."

"Son of a bitch," Vegeta retorts. "You think you can take me out with some lousy ki restraints?" He drops his ki to a dangerously low level, then clashes his wrists together in an almost magical gesture. The ki restraints shatter and Vegeta immediately powers up again.

"Thank Kami," Trunks comments sarcastically. "For a second I was afraid you wouldn't try to fight me."

"You know me better than that, brat."

"Wrong, Vegeta. Actually, I don't know you at all! You rushed yourself into an early death in my dimension, abandoning your family, running away from your responsibilities! You left us to fade away… And since I can't punish the Vegeta in my own dimension, I'll have my revenge on _you_."

"Take your best shot, kid. But before you do, realize that you're lying to yourself. You're not here to destroy me. On the contrary."

"Nani?" Mirai Trunks stares at Vegeta dumbfounded.

"I could see it in your eyes after you knocked out Kakarot. You're here to bond with me, admit it." Vegeta crosses his arms over his chest, hovering quietly in the air.

Mirai Trunks seems to consider the idea for a moment, then nods.

"So that's it… I was wondering what all the insanity was about." He chuckles. "I've done some pretty horrible things because you weren't around to relieve my frustration, you know that?"

"I know. I can only imagine what you must feel like, since I do not have the same desire to achieve a _devil's bond_ with you."

Mirai Trunks growls deep in his throat. "I'll have my way with you, Vegeta, no matter what powers you summon to stop me."

Vegeta shrugs. "I'm a dominant Saiyan, boy, with royal blood running through my veins. The likes of you won't be able to force me into a bond. Kakarot is my mate."

Mirai Trunks makes a dismissive gesture. "Feh! Kakarot is a low class warrior, not worthy of an Elite fighter like you. You must have been very desperate indeed."

Vegeta clenches his fists at his side, losing control of his temper.

"Do… not… insult… my… mate," he says with strained voice.

"Kakarot is a slut, Vegeta," Mirai Trunks continues with an evil smirk on his face. "He stuck up his ass, waved his tail and you fell for it!"

"That's it! I'll bury you so deep that even the rats won't be able to find your bones!" Vegeta attacks in blind fury, hitting Mirai with all he's got.


	6. Masterminds

**Chapter 6 – Masterminds**

'Kami damn it, why won't he fall?'

The fight has been going for hours now, the sun is setting. The horizon colors red. Blood drips to the ground as the two warriors circle around each other, chests heaving for air.

Vegeta begins to have second thoughts concerning his threat to bury Mirai Trunks. He still wants to bury him, but he's not entirely convinced whether he is _able_ to do so. Mirai seems invincible and still maintains level SSJ3. Vegeta feels how he is slipping out of it, back to SSJ2.

Mirai senses Vegeta's struggle and smirks. "Give it up already, you stubborn baka. You can't win."

"I don't care. I won't give in to you. I'd rather be killed."

"I'd never kill you, it would be a waste to destroy such a work of art." Mirai licks his lips, lustfully eyeing the other warrior. Vegeta drops out of SSJ3 and remains at level 2, bloody and ragged.

'Kami knows I could eat you alive when you look like this,' Mirai chuckles inside Vegeta's mind. 'Are you sure you're not even slightly tempted by the idea of forming a bond with me?'

"Positive," Vegeta growls.

Mirai Trunks looks him in the eye, waving his finger warningly. 'Don't lie to me, Vegeta. You _have _considered it.'

"Considering it is not the same as agreeing to it," Vegeta says defiantly. "And I have seen what your plans with Kakarot are. No deal."

"Aww, come on! There's no way I'm going to share you with a low class warrior, that's preposterous."

"Radditz is also a low class, I share a pack bond with him. What are you going to do, kill him when he's already dead?"

"_Radditz_?" Mirai is taken by surprise. "Mom told me stories about Kakarot's brother… A pack bond?"

"Without him, I wouldn't have survived Frieza," Vegeta states calmly. It feels surprisingly good to say that out loud.

"Pack bonds can be broken," Mirai says coldly. "Easy as hell."

Vegeta gasps. "How do you know so much about bonding?"

"A little bird told me," Mirai smirks and attacks again. "Enough talk. Let's continue."

Vegeta uses every dirty trick he knows on Mirai, but he can't keep up with him. In the middle of the night, he powers down to Saiyan form. His legs give out from under him and he collapses to the ground.

"Finish it, Mirai. Or I will." Vegeta sounds tired. Through the rushing of blood in his ears, he hears Mirai's footsteps approach. The golden glow of his battle aura fades away as he powers down to Saiyan form as well.

"Had enough?" Mirai's voice is no more than a whisper. "Oh, Vegeta, you have no idea of what is on the way. The battle has only just begun. I don't want to take you by force, I want you to submit to me willingly."

Vegeta starts laughing uncontrollably. "In your… wet dreams… _rookie!_"

"_Rookie?_" Mirai Trunks' blue eyes seem to darken. His lavender hair half covers his glistening eyes. Blood drips from a fresh cut on his forehead. With most of his clothes torn away in the previous fight, his muscular silhouette looks divine. Vegeta tilts his head at this sudden change. Mirai seems to grow older in an instant, towering over him threateningly.

"You think I'm _bluffing?_"

"It wouldn't be the first time," Vegeta says hoarsely.

Mirai Trunks closes his eyes with a sigh, folding his hands in front of his chest. A white light hits Vegeta, taking over his mind, searching for the weak spots that are hidden deep within the chasms of his soul.

Sinking into a deep trance, two Saiyan warriors continue their battle on a whole other level. Mirai draws power from his burning desire to make Vegeta his own; Vegeta however draws power from his bonds and a lifetime of experience with mind struggles.

'Feels good to fight someone else's mind for a change,' he comments as he concentrates on keeping Mirai out of his inner mind.

'You won't be able to keep this up, Vegeta, I promise.'

Hours pass. The forest becomes very quiet, as if it's holding its breath while anxiously awaiting the outcome of the battle.

Sweating and breathing heavily, Mirai opens his eyes. Something distracts him, tugging at the outer regions of his awareness. He blinks, trying to regain his eyesight. Then he startles back in surprise as he looks at the people standing behind the unconscious form of Vegeta.

"Impossible…" he says breathless. He counts three halo's; one belongs to Mirai Gohan, the others belong to Radditz and Toorah. In between stand Mirai Bulma and Goku.

"Trunks-kun…" Mirai Gohan whispers. "What have you done to him?"

Mirai Trunks shakes his head as if he's trying to wake up from a nightmare.

"This isn't real… You are dead!"

"Someone needs to stop you, Trunks. You belong in our dimension, not theirs." Mirai Gohan approaches him, but Mirai Trunks backs away.

"Get the hell away from me!"

Meanwhile, Goku has kneeled down beside Vegeta, waking him up with a surge of ki. Sitting up, Vegeta says: "You were a fool to believe you could defeat me, Mirai Trunks. There's more to me than just Vegeta. I _am_ the Saiyan race."

Mirai Trunks trembles violently as he forms two ki spheres in his hands.

'Kakarotto. Don't let him do that.'

Goku stretches out his hands and unleashes his ki draining attack. Mirai is knocked out easily; the battle of the mind exhausted him. Right before he passes out, he sees Vegeta tower over him. The other figures fade away and he hears Vegeta chuckle inside his head.

'Fooled you… _rookie_.'

The world then turns to a very dark shade of grey.

When he wakes up, his head hurts like hell. He lies on a concrete floor, probably in some cellar in Capsule Corp. He feels totally drained and soon notices why. His wrists and ankles are tied to the wall with heavy ki restraints.

'Kami damn it. I lost.'

He tries to break free, but to no avail. His head is killing him and he slouches down to the ground. The worst of the whole situation is, that he has no idea what the fighters of this dimension are planning to do with him.

'I attacked Kakarot and tried to kill him… I'm surprised that I'm still alive. But how did Vegeta defeat me? It's such a blur…'

"I'll tell you how I defeated you, brat," Vegeta's dark voice emerges from the doorway. Mirai backs away until his back is to the wall. He's convinced that Vegeta has come here to finish him.

"Scared? You should be," Vegeta says in a tone that tells him to treasure the seconds he has left to breathe. "There is no way, in this dimension or another, that you could have defeated me in a mastermind battle. To be honest, I wonder if you even had the slightest comprehension of what you were getting yourself into at the time."

"I hadn't," Mirai admits weakly. "There was only one thing on my mind…"

"And I bet it still is the only thing on your mind. Except for your question marks about how I defeated you. It's simple: I got to you first. The excruciating truth is, that no one ever defeated anyone in a mastermind battle. The one who loses defeats himself."

Mirai looks up in astonishment. "No way!"

Vegeta approaches him to the point where he knows Mirai can't touch him.

"You cannot escape the truth, boy. You _wanted_ me to defeat you. I have no clue why, because it doesn't make any sense. Or maybe…" Vegeta thinks for a moment. "Maybe you had no choice."

"What the hell do you mean?" Mirai gets up angrily and rushes up to Vegeta, but is stopped by the ki-restraining chains.

Vegeta chuckles. "I can tell by your reaction that you already knew this, Trunks."

Mirai Trunks clenches his jaws and hisses: "I did. Somewhere along the way I realized that if I'd wrench you away from Kakarot, you'd be miserable for the rest of your life. I could never do that to you, because of this ridiculous instinct to _protect_ you!"

"So you lost on purpose." Vegeta looks at him intently, feeling the hot breath of the prisoner on his face. "You know, Trunks, you might be a lot smarter than I thought."

"I'm not," Mirai hisses, tears rolling down his face. He looks angry, beaten, disappointed and very frustrated. "All I am is a loser with nothing left to live for. I still wonder why you haven't killed me yet."

A genuine smile forms on Vegeta's face. "It would be a waste to destroy such a work of art."

Before Mirai knows what hits him, Vegeta crushes their lips together in a passionate kiss. Mirai tugs at his chains, wanting to let his hands roam Vegeta's body, but they won't budge. He feels blissfully powerless, surrendering to Vegeta's hot mouth. He feels how Vegeta's hips grind against his and instantly grows hard.

After a few breathless moments, Vegeta steps back and grins ferally.

'So, future brat, you actually thought the battle was over? I admire your skills, and choosing the role of the prisoner was very smart indeed, but I'm still the one who's in control here. I won't let you enter my inner mind.'

'Wait and see, Vegeta,' Mirai Trunks growls inside Vegeta's mind, audibly irritated because he fell for Vegeta's vision. 'I've got more cards up my sleeve.'

'In that case, let's play some more. You're running two points short.'

A new vision begins to form…


	7. Defeat

**Chapter 7 – Defeat**

Focusing on forming a new vision, Mirai Trunks suddenly gasps in surprise. The world becomes a blur when he is hit with… some awesome power he cannot describe. He feels his control slipping away and starts to fall into nothingness.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Mirai Trunks' body falls back and hits the ground, unconscious.

Vegeta slowly opens his eyes, aching all over. But a mind-blowing feeling of relief washes over him, as he feels Goku's hand on his shoulder.

'I wondered where all that power came from,' Vegeta thinks tiredly.

'You know I need you to make that happen, Vegeta,' Goku thinks modestly. 'You're the mastermind. Without your mind, I'd never be able to channel my energy the right way.'

A sigh echoes through Goku's head. 'At last Mirai Trunks is defeated. Kami, for a few moments in this battle I actually thought he was going to _win_.'

'He became ridiculously strong because of his desire to bond with you…' Goku thinks. 'You know, maybe that's how I became so strong as well.'

Vegeta chuckles, almost asleep. 'Seems I have a thing for pushing warriors over the edge.'

Goku kisses Vegeta's forehead gently. 'Sleep now, koi. Get some rest. I'll take care of Mirai Trunks in the mean time.'

Mirai Bulma is waiting for Goku to return at Capsule Corp's hospital wing. It's weird to be in the other dimension, where the androids don't play a major role in everyday life. It's also very weird to see herself in this dimension… but she has to admit that she's most nervous about seeing Vegeta again.

Suddenly, Goku appears in the room, holding an unconscious Vegeta in his arms. Mirai Bulma swallows hard. 'My Kami… Did Trunks do that?'

Tears form in her eyes, as Goku places the limp body of his mate on a bed.

"I've got senzu ready," says Bulma. "We'll have him up and running in no time."

Then she looks at Mirai Bulma. "Are you okay?"

Mirai Bulma nods slowly. "I guess so… It's so bizarre to see him again…"

"I understand," Bulma says, handing the senzu bean to Goku, who feeds it to Vegeta.

"I need to go and get Mirai Trunks," Goku says and puts two fingers to his forehead once more. "See you in a bit."

Vegeta opens his eyes and is surprised to see two Bulmas instead of one. He shakes his head, then realizes what's going on.

"Mirai Bulma…" he says, sitting up.

The sound of his voice alone is enough to knock her off her feet. She collapses to the floor. Bulma picks her future counterpart up and walks her to Vegeta's bed.

"Go ahead, he won't bite," Bulma chuckles.

Vegeta reaches out his hand and pulls her up to him. Mirai Bulma embraces him, sobbing into his bare chest.

'I've missed you so much…'

Vegeta is surprised that she can establish a telepathic connection with him, but then shrugs it off. It's clear that she loved his future counterpart very much.

'I know. I'm sure that wherever your Vegeta is now, he misses you too.'

He strokes her hair and sooths her with his ki. She soon falls asleep.

"Wow," Bulma whispers. "You've sure changed a lot, Vegeta."

"That's just Kakarot rubbing off on me," he growls, a little embarrassed by his own compassion.

Goku reappears, holding Mirai Trunks in his arms.

"It's a good thing you put her to sleep," Goku says, nodding to Mirai Bulma. "She'd probably faint if she saw her son like this." He puts Mirai Trunks on another bed.

"She almost fainted seeing _me_ like this," Vegeta chuckles softly. "Now, what are your plans with the Future brat?"

Goku shrugs. "There aren't many things we can do. All I could think of, was to take Mirai Trunks to Otherworld and make him submissive. But I'm not sure if that's going to help. You know what effect it had on me…"

"He's already experienced the fever. You hadn't. It could work…" Vegeta looks at Mirai Trunks lying on the bed. Cold little claws tug at his heart as he sees him so utterly defeated. Change him into a submissive Saiyan without his approval? Wouldn't that be… degrading?

"You're not sure, are you, Vegeta?" Goku immediately senses his mate's hesitation.

"It seems rather… harsh. This whole situation isn't his fault." Vegeta looks down to his hands, clenching them into fists subconsciously. "It just happened."

"Bulma, could you leave us?" Goku suddenly asks. She nods and exits without asking questions.

Goku stares at his mate intently. Vegeta doesn't return his stare and avoids looking into Goku's eyes.

"So you want to talk about the other solution," Goku states calmly.

Vegeta looks up, surprised at Goku's calm reaction. "I… I do."

A smile forms on Goku's face as he sits down on Vegeta's bed, taking his hand and squeezing it gently.

"What do you think I am, Vegeta, blind? I know you care for him. You had the whole jealous-at-his-super Saiyan-power thing going on when he first appeared in this dimension. From you I've learned how faint the boundary between hate and love can be."

Vegeta finally looks Goku in the eye. "So you'd… approve?"

Goku laughs out loud. "My Kami Vegeta, you're the dominant Saiyan! It's your decision!"

Vegeta squeezes his mate's hand not so gently.

"Kami damn it, Kakarot, I'm serious about this. I know I'm the dominant Saiyan, but I know that you used to be one as well. That's why I hesitate: because I don't want to hurt you. I need your full approval."

Goku stops laughing and looks at his mate very seriously. "You have my approval, Vegeta. I understand that you don't want Mirai Trunks to become submissive; he's a dominant Saiyan and I can imagine he'd never want to be any other kind. The way he fought you… All he wants is a devil's bond. No other solution would satisfy him."

"I think any other solution would destroy him," Vegeta says seriously.

"That would be a waste, wouldn't it?" Goku winks at his mate. Vegeta blushes intensely.

"Can't I keep _any_ of my thoughts private?" His voice sounds irritated, but then he smiles. "Arigato, Kakarotto."

"You're welcome, koi."

Mirai Trunks awakes with a start. He can't see a thing; everything is pitch black. With his other senses he tries to discover where he is. To his own surprise, he senses _nothing_. It seems like he's powerless to do anything at all; the walls surrounding him are cold and made of some kind of metal. He can't find a door. Because the room is so small, he doesn't dare to use a ki blast. He might kill himself while trying to get out that way.

'Vegeta,' he thinks. 'He must be the one who put me here, wherever 'here' is. What the hell is he up to?'


	8. Saiyans

**Chapter 8 – Saiyans**

A bright light hits Mirai Trunks' eyes. Before he knows what happens, Vegeta's gruff voice says: "Wake up, brat. We're going to have some fun." Mirai stumbles outside and gasps as he sees where they have landed. A sandy, rocky planet. The plains beneath them are crawling with fighting creatures. One army is humanoid, the other consist of big bug-like creatures. They look like giant scorpions.

Vegeta playfully punches his shoulder.

'Those bug-things are the defenders of this planet, their home world. The others are invaders who want to annihilate them so they can sell this planet to the highest bidder. Sounds familiar?'

"That's what _you _used to do…" Mirai whispers. He looks at Vegeta and sees pain in his eyes.

'Frieza _made_ me do that. But now I'm a free Saiyan, and I say we help those bugs. Are you in?' He looks at Mirai Trunks expectantly.

A feral grin flashes on Trunks' face. "Are you kidding? I'll lead the way!" He plunges down onto the battlefield, closely followed by Vegeta. Like a thunderstorm from hell they sweep through the enemy lines. The surprise effect doesn't work long though. Soon they need to power up to keep up with the invaders.

'You could have told me they were _strong_,' Trunks thinks mockingly.

'I recall you were here for a challenge?' Vegeta replies smugly. 'I'd rather see you kill _them_ than Kakarot and his brats.'

Trunks grins. 'This is better fun indeed.'

'How so?' Vegeta asks curiously.

'There's more to kill.' Trunks' thought enters Vegeta's mind very clearly, like a sharp blade. Vegeta can sense that Trunks is enjoying himself. He smiles briefly and then continues fighting. This is exactly what Trunks needed.

Suddenly, the ground starts to shake. Something has been tunneling towards the battlefield and is about to resurface.

"Kuso," Vegeta curses. "Nuclear beam cannon."

"I take it that is a bad thing?" Trunks remarks in wise guy manner.

"It'll wipe out the bugs. We need to stop it."

"Shouldn't be too hard." Trunks is already on his way to the cannon. Then Vegeta calls him back telepathically.

'Baka! You can't just destroy such a weapon! It's far more advanced than anything you've ever seen on Chikyuu! Stay here and put up an energy shield to protect the bugs. I'll IT that thing out of here.'

Trunks stares at Vegeta dumbfounded. "Damn, you're right. With Instant Transmission, you're way faster than I am. Sorry."

"I'll make you feel sorry if you don't put up that energy shield," Vegeta growls. Then he fazes out.

Trunks puts up a huge energy shield to protect his fellow warriors. The first nuclear wave hits it and Trunks is soon sweating and fighting for air. Maintaining the energy shield is draining his power quickly.

'Damn it Vegeta, hurry up!'

Another wave hits the energy shield. Trunks falls to one knee, trembling all over.

'I can't take any more… VEGETA! DO SOMETHING!'

Then he sees the giant weapon vanish. The energy shield fades into nothing. Trunks falls down, totally drained.

Right before he passes out, he watches how more Saiyans appear on the battlefield. He recognizes Radditz and Toorah. Others appear, their faces unknown. His consciousness gives up on him as he notices a red cape swirling over the battlefield.

King Vegeta has come.

Trunks finds himself enveloped in a divine warmth as he regains his consciousness. He snuggles up to the warm lap he lies in and breathes in deeply. Vegeta's scent comforts him, makes him feel safe. Trunks doesn't want to wake up; he wants to remain in this stage between sleeping and waking. Then a new sensation hits him. Vegeta's strong hands slowly massage his chest muscles. A shivering sigh escapes Trunks' lips. He opens his eyes and sees Vegeta tower over him. As soon as he opens his eyes, the noise hits his ears as if they had been plugged before.

Drums. Grunts. Sounds of fighting… and other sounds that suggest intense physical activity. Trunks notices that he isn't wearing his regular clothes, but some kind of loin cloth that only covers the most private areas of his well-toned body. The other Saiyans are dressed in the same fashion; he figures it must be part of the ritual, whatever kind of ritual they are participating in right now.

"Finally awake, huh?" Vegeta says.

"Nah. I died and went straight to heaven." Trunks smiles to the handsome features hovering over him. Then he grimaces.

"Did I tell you to stop?" he asks, referring to Vegeta's massaging activities.

Vegeta smirks arrogantly and waits a teasing moment before continuing his massage with agonizingly slow movements.

Trunks' eyes fall back as he feels how Vegeta feeds ki into his body at random intervals.

"Uuunhh," he groans. He's getting aroused very fast.

"You did a great job protecting the bugs," Vegeta compliments him. "To be honest, I wasn't sure your ki'd last long enough to sustain the energy shield."

Trunks looks up in surprise. "You weren't sure?"

Vegeta closes his eyes for a moment, searching for the right words. "You have become less powerful since our last fight."

"Hah! I _will_ reach Super Saiyan 3 again, Vegeta. Mark my words." Trunks closes his eyes again, feeling more relaxed than ever.

"Kami damn it, I feel like I'm on drugs… What is this place?"

"It's not the place that makes you feel this way, Trunks. It's your fellow Saiyans. Take a look around." Vegeta's hands pull him up to a sitting position.

Trunks can't help himself and gasps in awe. They are in some sort of giant cave, fires are burning in various fireplaces. There are Saiyans everywhere: some of them talking, most of them mating. The air is thick with pheromones and Trunks feels a shiver run down his spine. He's losing control over the lower regions of his body. In less than a few seconds, he is rock hard. It's only now that he notices Vegeta's arousal as well.

"Welcome to your first Saiyan victory party, whelp."

Vegeta's hands continue to massage his shoulders and neck. He feels how Trunks' tail curls up against his abs, then it settles on his arousal. Vegeta inhales sharply at the sensation, then he smirks.

'Easy, boy. We have all night.'

'Impatience always has been a character flaw of mine.'

Someone else joins their telepathic conversation.

'Impatience is a virtue when you're a Saiyan, Trunks. But so is control, and you seem to lack in that department.' Toorah snickers inside their minds.

"I can tell this is going to be an interesting night indeed." Toorah appears right in front of Trunks and eyes him lustfully.

Vegeta grunts in approval; he doesn't mind his son joining them. Toorah is more experienced than Trunks and from the looks of him, he's more than willing to submit to the lavender haired youngster.

Trunks sends a private message to Vegeta: 'Kami Vegeta, you know I'm technically a virgin and you want to start with a _threesome_?'

Vegeta doesn't answer this remark and lets his body do the talking for him. He kneels down behind Trunks, his hands roaming the muscular body, his mouth exploring the beautiful neck and shoulders. But he can't help himself when he says: "Stop being such a _ningen_, Trunks. Tonight, let there be nothing but Saiyans."

Trunks breathes in deeply and his thoughts become hazy. Toorah kneels down in front of Trunks and crushes their mouths together. Trunks' eyes grow wide with the odd sensation, and for a second he panics. But soon the panic is replaced with another feeling that urges him to respond. Pure lust and instinct overrule his mind, his rational thoughts. He parts his lips and welcomes Toorah's tongue into his mouth. Vegeta's arousal rests heavily on his back, Trunks' tail curls up and grabs it, caressing it.

Trunks' hands roam Toorah's body, they feel the muscles, knead them and feed ki into them. Toorah moans into their passionate kiss. Trunks' hands travel lower, until they encounter Toorah's arousal. He starts pumping it firmly, causing more sounds of pleasure to emanate from Toorah's throat.

Vegeta demands more attention by grabbing Trunks' neglected arousal and stroking it slowly but firmly. Trunks' breathing becomes ragged as he tries to thrust into Vegeta's hand. Vegeta however holds him back with his other hand and maintains his agonizing slow stroking.

Trunks looks over his shoulder madly and a snarl erupts from his throat. Vegeta's sweaty face still shows that arrogant smirk that drives him insane with lust… Two fingers enter him unexpectedly, probing into his tight heat. Without Trunks noticing, Toorah's getting onto his hands and knees. When Vegeta pushes Trunks forward, he almost collapses onto Toorah's back. He feels how Vegeta removes his fingers, replacing them with his throbbing arousal.

Trunks gasps in pain and surprise. Sweat rolls down his forehead. Vegeta's hands roam over his back, comforting him, caressing him, feeding more ki into him. Trunks ignores the pain and answers to the greater urge for more, more, more. His hips move forward and then he slams back into Vegeta, impaling himself. Without realizing it, he's screaming Vegeta's name.

Meanwhile, Toorah has positioned himself right in front of Trunks. With every move Trunks makes, his arousal probes into Toorah's opening. Trunk's hands claw into Toorah's back, pulling him closer to him. The moment he buries himself into Toorah, he comes. He pauses for a moment, then continues his frantic thrusting. He is still rock hard and has no intention to stop yet. The feeling of his body being rocked back and forth between the two other warriors, colliding and sliding back, is better than anything he's ever experienced before.

He reaches down to Toorah's arousal and strokes it with ki. His other hand is on Toorah's hip, guiding their movements. Because he uses ki on Toorah, he soon feels semen cover his hand.

'How the hell can Vegeta last so long? No one has _that_ much control.' Trunks stops wondering about Vegeta's ability to postpone his orgasm as he realizes that the wetness dripping down the inside of his thighs is Vegeta's semen.

'You were so busy screaming my name that you didn't notice, brat.' Trunks hears Vegeta chuckle inside his head. 'Are you ready for the grand finale?'

Trunks wasn't ready. Nothing could have ever prepared him for what was going to happen next. He feels their bodies and souls fade into another as they become one. Vegeta guides them into him, devours them both. Low grunts and loud screams are heard when they orgasm simultaneously. The three of them fall forward, limbs entangling. They feverishly try to catch their breath.

'Hell…' Trunks has never felt so satisfied before. Ever.

"If that was hell, I _don't_ want to know what heaven is like," Toorah smiles tiredly.

Vegeta is sprawled on his back, his eyes closed. His face is relaxed; a rare thing to occur in his case. Trunks curls up to his side, dragging Toorah with him. It takes only a few seconds before they fall asleep.


	9. Need

**Chapter 9 – Need**

Trunks awakes with the feeling that something is wrong. Toorah's still lying beside him, but Vegeta is missing. He gets up and closes his eyes to sense where Vegeta has gone. He doesn't have to look far; on the other side of the cave, Vegeta's sleeping soundly in Radditz' arms.

"Radditsu…" Trunks growls, his vision turns red. His tail lashes out behind him, then he charges.

"What the…" Curses and grunts are heard as Trunks attacks Radditz, waltzing over Vegeta in the process.The tables soon turn though as Vegeta grabs Trunks' tail and brings him down to his knees in pain.

"KAMI DAMN IT WHELP, ARE YOU INSANE?" Vegeta towers over him, burning with rage. Radditz is nursing his bleeding nose in the background.

"Do you think you can attack Radditz because you're stronger than he is? Do you really think I'd let you?"

Trunks growls at him in frustration. He acted on instinct, not on rational thoughts.

"Leave him alone, Vegeta," Radditz says. "He didn't mean no harm."

Trunks finally snaps out of it and stops growling at Vegeta. Nani? Radditz is _defending_ him?

"Oh sure he didn't," Vegeta spits. "Tell that to your broken nose."

"It ain't broken!" Radditz snarls. "Now let go of his tail!"

Trunks watches the soundless battle between Vegeta and Radditz. Suddenly he feels how his tail is released.

"If I catch you doing so much as thinking a wrong thought about him, I swear to Kami, I'll skin you alive." Vegeta stomps off.

Radditz approaches Trunks and punches him in the shoulder playfully.

"_That_ was the stupidest thing to do if you're trying to gain a place on Geta's favorite's list."

"I wasn't trying anything," Trunks replies weakly. His shoulders slouch down.

"I know," Radditz answers. "That's why I defended you. You weren't thinking. Just make sure it doesn't happen again."

Trunks lowers his head, tears welling up in his crystal blue eyes. The smell of Vegeta on Radditz is driving him crazy! He can see the bite mark on Radditz' shoulder, it's like a neon sign in Vegas. Involuntarily he clenches his fists at his sides.

"Damn it kid, you've got it bad!" Radditz backs away from him, leaving the cave.

"Trunks, you idiot," he hears Toorah's mocking voice behind him. "Don't mess with my parents. Vegeta already told you he'd bond with you, so have some fucking patience."

"That's the problem," Trunks hisses. "I'm done waiting, I've waited long enough!" His body is shaking with pure frustration.

'There's plenty of things we can do to kill time…' Toorah switches to telepathy as he unceremoniously pushes Trunks to the ground and pounces on him.

"Come on, Vegeta, don't be such a stuck up baka," Radditz complains. "We _need _to talk about what happened."

"What part of "leave me alone" didn't you understand, soldier? GET OUT!" Vegeta turns his back on Radditz, shaking with rage.

"Or you'll do what?"

Radditz stands his ground, knowing that Vegeta can't hurt him that bad since he's already dead.

'Relax, koi, you're overreacting. Let's sit down and talk about what's eating you.'

After a few moments, Vegeta surrenders to Radditz' soothing thoughts and flops down on the floor.

"I'm scared," he blurts out.

Radditz eyes go wide in surprise. "Then why did you agree to mate him?"

"The only other solution was to turn him into a submissive Saiyan… I refused. It would be like forcing myself to be submissive… Impossible. It would be so degrading…"

"So you agreed to mate him, but you're afraid to do so. Why?"

"Excuse me, have you _seen_ him just a few seconds ago? He was about to rip out your guts with his bare hands!"

Radditz smiles. "Yeah, he's a true son of his father…"

"Why the hell are you defending him anyway?" Vegeta snarls.

"I'm not. I'm just trying to make you see that he's so much like you! He's probably scared as well. Maybe he doesn't realize, since his need to be with you is greater than anything right now. I think you should talk to him and work things out."

"Talk… I should show him who's boss, that's what I should do."

"I won't work on him, Geta. He's dominant."

Articulate curses emanate from Vegeta's throat as he realizes he has no other choice. He has to talk to Trunks.

Mirai Trunks lies on his back, half asleep, half unconscious. Next to him is Toorah, bloody and beaten. With a huge grin on his face. He downs a senzu bean and turns around when he hears the curtains covering the entrance of the room rustle.

"Hi dad," he greets Vegeta. "If you want to talk to him, better come back later. He'll be out of it for quite some time."

Vegeta sniffs the air. It's heavy with pheromones and the smell of blood. He senses anger and pain as well.

"It's a good thing you had senzu, son," Vegeta says hoarsely, counting the blood stains on the sheets.

"Feh! I could've lasted another round." Toorah gets up, glancing at Mirai Trunks before putting on some loose pants. "I guess you want me to leave?"

"Please."

Toorah is baffled. He never heard his father utter that word before. He leaves without another word.

Vegeta sits down next to Mirai Trunks and waits.

Red fabric is everywhere around him, muffling his cries for help. He looks down on himself, hammering into Toorah, clawing onto his bare back.

"How does it feel, Trunks, to become what you hate most?" A deep, dark voice hits his ears. The red fabric rushes over his thighs, his groin, the base of his tail. Cold sweat runs over Trunks' face. He can't get out… Fear tugs at his chest, crushing his ribs with fatal pressure.

"Can't… breathe…" His face cringes at the numbing sensation of desperation. He is powerless.

"Wake up, Trunks. It's just a dream."

The voice of Vegeta pushes him to the surface. Gasping for air, Trunks wakes up. His body is trembling with the intense experience of fear.

"Thanks…"

Vegeta is shocked by the look in Mirai's eyes. It reminds him of the look in his own eyes, staring at his face in the mirror after a nightmare in which Frieza played the major part. He puts his hand on Mirai's shoulder, squeezing it gently.

"Relax…"

Mirai sighs deeply as he is comforted by Vegeta's ki.

"You're not mad at me anymore?" Crystal blue eyes look into Vegeta's black ones.

"No. But I've been thinking since you attacked Radditz. We need to talk, Trunks. I promised I'd bond with you. I never break a promise."

"I know that… I can't seem to control myself! And I don't understand how you can!"

Vegeta looks at the young man understandingly. "I can explain to you why I don't have the intense urge to pounce on you all the time."

Mirai's face turns red.

"I already established two bonds, one of them a deep bond. I agreed to bond with you because I'd rather kill myself than turn you into a submissive Saiyan."

Tears form in Mirai's eyes when he hears Vegeta say that.

"So you don't… have feelings for me?"

Vegeta grins widely. "You know better than that."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Mirai looks at Vegeta expectantly.

"The truth is…" Vegeta casts his eyes down.

"I have no idea how we can establish a 'devil's bond'. I wanted to talk to my father first to find out what we're supposed to do. Secondly, Kakarot and I did some serious memory sharing before we bonded. I'm not sure if you can handle bonding without it."

"How so?" Trunks' eyes seem to darken a bit.

"My childhood was pretty fucked up," Vegeta states coldly.

"So was mine," Trunks replies.

"In that case, it'll work both ways. I don't want either of us to get hurt."

Trunks nods. Then he asks: "So how come you know what a devil's bond is, but don't know how to form one?"

"I suck at rituals. I tend to change them even if I know exactly how they should be performed. But even I don't have the guts to mess with a devil's bond. Since my father does know all the Saiyan rituals by heart, I'll go ask him."

"And the memory sharing?"

"Tomorrow."

As soon as their mental link severs, Vegeta knows that he has made a mistake. Instead of hitting the ground unconscious, Mirai Trunks starts to power up.

"Kami damn it… You motherfucking asshole! I'll kill you!" Mirai attacks Vegeta with passion, already on the brink of SSJ 2.

Vegeta fazes out just in time and releases a ki drain attack on Mirai. It costs him surprisingly much energy to drain Trunks' power; it's like he's drawing power from some kind of secret buried inside his mind. His rage is worse than Vegeta has ever witnessed. In the end, Vegeta succeeds at draining Trunks' energy and catches his limp body before it hits the ground.

"What the hell was all that about, kid?"

He carries Trunks inside, his mind filled with question marks.


	10. Secrets

**Chapter 10 – Secrets**

Vegeta has seen enough. He knows now that Mirai Trunks has been abused as well.

But who would be strong enough to do such a thing to him? In his timeline, all Z warriors were already dead. Gohan perhaps? Vegeta shakes his head in denial. The pain in Mirai's eyes was fresh; the abuse must have taken place fairly recently.

Vegeta sighs. He has no idea who did this to his future counterpart's son. He closes his eyes and falls asleep in a chair next to Trunks' bed.

Like he once did with Goku, Vegeta bumps into Mirai Trunks in his dream.

"What the…"

"Vegeta! We need to get out of here! It's after the both of us!" Trunks grabs his arm and drags him along.

"Who is?" Vegeta asks agitated.

"Not _who, what_," Trunks corrects him. A shadow rises up behind them, they can't seem to outrun it.

Suddenly, they run into a huge mirror. The dark cloud remains right behind them, cutting off their escape route.

They have no other option than to look into the mirror… Vegeta watches himself as he tries to save Kakarot from Frieza and Glacier, but to no avail. He falls to his knees, gasping in pain. For a moment, he doesn't remember that this is a _dream_. The pain of losing his mate rips through his chest. As he claws at his own chest to make the pain go away, he feels blood drip from his hands and wrists. From the corner of his eyes, he notices how Trunks falls down as well, victim to an equally terrible vision in the mirror. Vegeta catches a glimpse of what is happening to Trunks in the mirror, but before it enters his conscious mind, the dark shadow takes control and the world fades to black.

Mirai Trunks wakes up with a headache. The raw emotions from the nightmare are still alive inside of him. Tears of powerlessness well up in his eyes. "Kami damn it," he whispers. "I should never have been so weak."

"What do you mean?" Vegeta looks as rotten as he feels. He avoids the dark Saiyan prince's intense gaze.

"I… can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"Because that… _thing_ still exist. I'm not sure if it's in this dimension as well, but it could be."

"Why is it after you?" Vegeta asks.

"I broke a promise," Mirai almost chokes on his own words. "But it was a promise I was forced to make."

"Trunks, _please_, show me what's going on. I can help you." Vegeta places his hands on Trunks' cheeks.

"No one can _help_ me," Mirai spits. "I'd rather die than show my weakness to you, _especially_ to you."

"What weakness would that be, Trunks? Hope? Trust me, that wasn't a weakness. What did he say to you? That he'd find a way to defeat the androids?"

Mirai stumbles back on his bed. His eyes narrow.

"You're just guessing," he growls.

"I'm very good at games, Trunks. I can imagine, that when Gohan died, you turned to someone else for help and guidance… But instead you received trauma and abuse. He forced you into things you would never have done willingly."

"This is impossible… You can't _know_ this!"

"We are the same, Trunks. Even in another dimension, my father is not a person to be trusted."

Mirai breaks down and cries as the horrible truth is revealed.

"You're… right… he told me… he knew a way… to destroy the androids. He refused to tell me… unless I'd submit to him. When I did…" Trunks chokes out the words, crying like a little boy. "… he took over my mind… He took over my _soul_… I was his slave… for years…"

"And soon you developed feelings for your own father, as a reaction to the abuse of your grandfather. You idolized him, even though you hated him for not being there when you needed him most."

"I guess… that's… true…"

"Hence the devil's bond… I'm beginning to understand it now," Vegeta speaks softly. "Come here, Trunks."

Mirai leans forward to be embraced by Vegeta's strong arms. He is still sobbing violently.

"I'm sorry… If I had known this, I'd never let you be part of that victory party…"

"Don't apologize for that, Vegeta. I enjoyed every second of it."

Vegeta sighs stroking Trunks' lavender hair.

"Trunks… I need to ask you an important question. When the king took over your mind, made you his slave… What did he do exactly?"

"He drank my blood. Lots of it."

"Fucking bastard," Vegeta spits. "From what place on your body?"

"My arms, mostly. I remember one time he drained me from a wound on my inner thigh. It hurt like hell."

"I can imagine that… Do you have scars?"

"No. Nothing. After what he taught me about bonding, I checked regularly."

"So he's the one who told you all about bonding…"

"Yeah. I think he told me to emphasize that we were _not_ bonded in any way, that I was simply there to please him."

"The arrogant fuck probably did," Vegeta growls, still angry. "He still has power over you, Trunks. We need to fix that first."

"Hah! You think I haven't tried before? It's impossible! I don't know how he does it, but I'd still answer to him if he'd call." Mirai punches the wall in frustration, leaving a hole.

"I have a secret weapon." Vegeta gets up, offering Mirai his hand.

"Or don't you want to be free again?"

Mirai gets up and follows Vegeta. When they approach King Vegeta's throne room, he pales.

"No way! I'm not going in there!"

"Yes, you are." Vegeta twists Mirai's arm behind his back and pushes him forward. "Don't be an idiot. He's the only one who can help you."

"Whatever he did to me in the past is not considered _helpful_, Vegeta!" Mirai snarls.

Vegeta stands still, catching his breath. "Listen to me, boy, there's two ways to enter that room. One, you'll be unconscious. Two, you'll be conscious and cooperating. Your choice."

Mirai pauses his struggling, then relaxes his muscles.

"I'm telling you, if you're trying to trick me, I'll hunt you down and have my way with you."

Then they walk through the heavy doors and come face to face with the king himself.

"Father, I need to talk to you," Vegeta tosses aside some guards that are standing in his way.

"Well, then I'd better make some time for you, huh?" The king roars: "Everybody out!"

The guards run off, until there's no one left in the throne room but King Vegeta, Prince Vegeta and Mirai Trunks.

"Have you bought me a present, son?" The king winks at Mirai, who glares back, ready to kill.

"He's a feisty one," the king comments. "Why are you here, Vegeta?"

"We need your help."

"'We'?"

Vegeta points his thumb at Mirai. "He's from another dimension. There, he's my son. Unfortunately, he's the only Saiyan warrior left in his dimension. So he came to seek help elsewhere… here."

"Help for what?" The king raises his eyebrows.

"Someone in the other dimension made him his slave," Vegeta states. "We need your help to undo the mind spell."

"I can imagine someone would want him," the king remarks.

"I'm sure you can," Mirai spits, an unholy fire burning in his eyes.

"How so?" the king asks, not in the least impressed.

"Because it was _you_ who took me!" Mirai is inches away from going Super Saiyan.

"I see," the king leans back and drums his fingers on his throne. "In that case, it will be rather easy to remove the spell."

Mirai powers down immediately.

"Just tell me what to do," he mutters under his breath.

"Someone will have to fight him to regain your freedom," the king states. "I imagine Vegeta is going to do that?"

Mirai looks at the prince, awaiting his reply.

"I will. All I have to do is defeat him?"

"Indeed. But he will choose the kind of battle you fight. Be warned, son. You know he has more tricks up his sleeve than you."

"I don't give a shit," Vegeta says coldly. "Arigato, otousan." He turns around and leaves, Mirai follows him closely.


	11. Death

**Chapter 11 – Death**

Vegeta and Mirai return to Chikyuu. They are welcomed by the other warriors, and of course Bulma throws a welcome back party at Capsule Corp.

Goku drags Vegeta upstairs as soon as he has the opportunity. He kisses him passionately, his hands already undressing his mate.

'Just making sure you're still mine as well…' Then Goku looks at Vegeta surprised.

"Nani? No fresh bite mark?"

Vegeta slouches down on the bed in defeat.

"There were… complications."

"What complications?" Goku sits down next to Vegeta and puts his big arm around him.

"Mirai is under the spell of someone in his dimension. In order to break the spell, I have to fight for Mirai's freedom."

Goku doesn't ask the question out loud. 'Who is it?'

"My father."

"No way!"

"It's true," Mirai Trunks says in a grim tone. He enters the room and takes off his jacket. Then he flops onto the bed, next to Vegeta.

"But I don't want you to fight him," he states.

"Nani? We already agreed on this!" Vegeta looks at him angrily.

"Well, now I disagree again. I can fight my own battles, I don't need you to do it for me." Mirai looks back at Vegeta unfazed.

Goku can't help himself and bursts into laughter.

"Oh my Kami, you two _are_ exactly the same!"

Vegeta chuckles, but then turns serious again. "I am more experienced than you, Trunks. I know my father better than anyone. I'll be happy to defeat him for you."

Mirai sighs. "I'm not used to people doing things for me."

"I know," Vegeta says. "Now that we're all here, let's crash here for the night. Bulma won't mind. Tomorrow I'll use the Time Machine and put an end to the royal bastard's power over you." Vegeta turns around and grins to Goku.

"Now, Kakarot, where were we?"

Vegeta's tail lashes out to stroke Mirai's neck as Goku locks the prince in his arms, kissing him with fire. Vegeta soon positions himself behind Goku, not intending to waste his time. Mirai's mouth is working his way down on Goku's front, soon encountering his throbbing arousal. Mirai synchronizes his movements with Vegeta and deep throats Goku at the moment Vegeta enters him. Goku's hands claw at Mirai's shoulders, incoherent sounds erupting from his throat. Mirai circles his arm around Goku's hips and starts to knead his butt cheeks. With his other hand he holds Goku's hips, trying to counter the movement caused by Vegeta's frantic thrusting.

"Trunks…" Goku's voice sounds hoarse, different as he calls Trunks' name. Mirai gets up and is pulled to Goku's hard body. Mirai crushes his mouth to Goku's, demanding entrance forcefully. Goku moans as he gives Mirai access. His hand travels down to Mirai's neglected arousal, grabbing it hard and pumping it firmly.

"Unh!" Goku's tail is probing his entrance, the sensation is almost too much for Mirai. His chest heaving for air, his mouth attacks Goku's corded neck and strong shoulders. Vegeta looks at him threateningly as he does, but Mirai has no intention to bite Goku. Still, Mirai lingers a few moments, teasing Goku's neck with short licks, just to have those burning black eyes pierce into his soul. He feels his control slipping and releases his semen into Goku's hand. Vegeta and Goku orgasm simultaneously. Mirai looks at their flustered faces for a few seconds, then smiles. He falls back onto the mattress and is already half asleep. When he starts snoring softly, Goku chuckles.

"What?" Vegeta says.

"He's so cute… Look at him. Totally passed out."

Mirai lifts an eyelid. "I heard that!"

"Kuso…" Goku looks ashamed.

Vegeta laughs at Goku so hard that Mirai has to kick him in the side to shut him up. Then he lays back and continues snoring.

Vegeta says goodbye the next morning. Mirai Bulma sets the coordinates for him.

"Be careful out there," she says softly.

"I will." Vegeta pushes the button that closes the canopy. The Time Machine lifts into the air and then vanishes.

"Kami's speed, Vegeta," Goku whispers.

Mirai Trunks seems to feel uncomfortable now that Vegeta's gone.

"I wish he had allowed me to come with him…"

Goku puts an arm around his shoulder. "You know him. He's not a team player."

"Neither am I." Mirai glares at Goku, shaking off his arm. He turns his back to Goku and walks away.

"Like father, like son…" Goku mutters.

At night, Goku can't sleep. He misses Vegeta, of course, but there's something else nagging at the corners of his mind. Something bad is going to happen, he can sense it. He turns over to his other side for the millionth time, still wide awake. He startles as he hears his name.

"Goku…"

Mirai Trunks is hovering outside his window. Goku gets up and lets him in.

"Sorry for what happened this morning. I was acting like a jerk."

"Never mind that." Goku can smell fear on Mirai.

"So you feel it too," he states.

"Something evil is coming…" Mirai looks around as if some monster will emerge from the deep shadows.

"You think it could be…" Goku doesn't finish his sentence.

"It might be. But that would mean that Vegeta…"

"The king doesn't have to kill Vegeta to defeat him. If Vegeta was dead, I'd be able to sense it, even though I'm in another dimension."

"So Vegeta's still alive," Mirai Trunks concludes. "But he's not winning the fight either."

"I guess not."

"I'm going after him. My mom took another Time Machine from our dimension, I'll go after Vegeta and set things straight."

"He told you no."

"That's what he said to the devil's bond too. Come on, Goku, he probably needs help because he underestimated his father's power in my dimension. Do you want me to abandon him when he needs me?"

"I know that Vegeta can take care of himself," Goku says. "He must have had a good reason to go to your dimension alone."

"He has no idea what the king is capable of doing in my dimension," Mirai whispers. "I don't want him to get hurt again."

Goku sighs. He knows that he can't win from Mirai; maybe physically, but battling Mirai's will power is like trying to pull out a sequoia with a pair of tweezers. It won't work.

"Fine, go after him. But I warn you: Vegeta will not be pleased when you arrive."

"I don't give a shit. This is a battle _I_ should be fighting. I'll leave right away."

Mirai is already half way to the door, when he hears Goku's voice inside his mind.

'Be careful… koi.'

Mirai feels relieved that Goku accepts him, but then shakes off the feeling and focuses on the battle to come.

'I'll be back with Vegeta, so help me Kami.'

Mirai arrives too late. Vegeta's body, tied to the wall with ki restraints, is still there, but his ki is gone. Standing across the room is King Vegeta, laughing his head off.

"Idiot son… Thinking he could defeat me…"

Tears well up in Mirai's eyes, blurring his vision. Something snaps inside of him. His blood turns to fire as he starts to power up.

"You'll pay for that." His voice is surprisingly calm, like someone else is controlling it.

King Vegeta turns around to face his new adversary.

"Oh, it's _you_. Back for more? I'll give you some more!" His voice sounds like thunder. The walls start shaking. Prince Vegeta's limp body trembles slightly in its cuffs.

King Vegeta roars and fazes out.

The battle is like a dream: everything seems to go very slow, and at the same time, faster than the speed of light. Mirai still has the weird 'out of body' experience. His focus improves infinitely. While fighting, he hears Vegeta's guiding voice inside his mind.

'Trunks… you're smart enough to know what my strategy is. Follow my lead and we'll beat this bastard.'

'Why not let me beat him now?'

'He'll trick you into thinking you've beaten him. This has to be done _right_, Trunks. It's the only way to break his control over you.'

Mirai growls into Vegeta's mind. 'Whatever it takes, Vegeta.'

He makes a false move and the king grabs him from behind.

"Just like old times, eh?"

It costs Mirai all of his self control not to end his disgusting opponent. Instead, he struggles in the king's strong arms.

"Your father put up a heck of a fight, you little bitch. If you don't try harder, you'll be writhing underneath me in a matter of seconds."

Mirai slams his elbow into the king's gut and throws him over his shoulder.

"Don't you dare to call me your bitch," he hisses vehemently. "It ends here."

"Dream on, kid. You can't break me."

Mirai draws his sword and ceremoniously closes his eyes as he feels the raw power of it flow through him. His battle aura flashes brightly as he attacks the king again.

'Whatever it takes, Vegeta. I know.'

Mirai takes his time to keep the king busy, inflicting some serious damage, but not too much. In turn, he takes his share of injuries. Suddenly, he makes a fatal mistake in a sequence of movements. King Vegeta reacts in a split second and pins Mirai to the ground. Mirai curses through clenched teeth as he feels ki restrainers capture his wrists and ankles. He knows what's coming next and he realizes now that Vegeta went through the same thing in order to save him.

'Whatever it takes, Trunks. I'm here with you.'

Blood drips from Mirai Trunks' body as he is chained to the wall, right next to Vegeta's motionless body. Mirai notices how peaceful Vegeta looks in death… somehow, it seems fitting.

He steps out of his own body again, looking at the scene from above. He doesn't feel how the torn clothes are ripped away from his helpless body; neither does he feel how the king enters him forcefully from behind. Vegeta is here with him. Mirai loses consciousness and marvels in Vegeta's comforting aura.

The world fades to black as the spark of life is beaten out of him.


	12. Freedom

**Chapter 12 – Freedom**

The king steps back, admiring the two destroyed bodies in front of him. Then he gasps in surprise. Both Vegeta and Mirai Trunks turn around, open their eyes and look at him. Halos appear over their heads.

"Now it's our turn," they say simultaneously. With swift movements they break the chains and approach the king, slowly and threateningly.

Clashing their left and right hand together, Vegeta and Mirai stretch out their arms towards the king.

Their lips form ancient words in Saiya-go and soon the king falls to his knees, grabbing his head in despair.

'It's over, you bastard. Never mess with me again.' Mirai's voice echoes into the king's mind. The king's body becomes transparent and then vanishes.

Mirai is free again.

"You son of a bitch," Vegeta hisses as he glares at Mirai. "I told you to stay put."

"What can I say? Like father, like son. You never listen to anyone anyway, then why should I listen to you?"

Vegeta punches Mirai in the chest.

"I'm serious, you baka! How the hell can anyone wish us back when Mirai Bulma can't take our Dragon Balls to this dimension? You used the other Time Machine!"

"And it can be used again," Mirai states confidently.

"Nani?" Vegeta looks at him like he's lost his marbles.

"It's called programming, Vegeta. I sent the Time Machine back on its own to get my mom and the Dragon Balls. What do you think I am, stupid?"

Vegeta smiles at him, obviously relieved. "I never knew that damn thing could be programmed," he admits.

"Thank Kami you do know your stuff about mind spells and breaking them," Mirai says. "Hell, even now I don't know what we said to make him crawl. Was that Saiya-go? I don't even speak the language!"

"That's why I was in charge. Once we bond, you'll be able to speak it too."

"That's so awesome!" Mirai looks around the destroyed throne room. "Can we get out of here now?"

"Absolutely."

Mirai Bulma wishes them back with the Dragon Balls. They reappear on Chikyuu, right outside of Capsule Corp.

"I guess you want to go back to the other dimension?" Mirai Bulma asks her son.

Mirai Trunks nods. "If I stay here, I'd probably go on a rampage again."

His mother swallows hard as she embraces him tightly.

"I'll miss you so much," she sobs. "But I know you'll be happy there."

"I'll visit you every once and a while," Trunks promises. He gently peels off her arms and steps back.

"Vegeta," Mirai Bulma says as they get into the Time Machines. "Take good care of him."

"I will, onna," Vegeta replies.

The Time Machines lift off and vanish.

Goku awaits them as they return, with a huge grin on his face.

"I knew you two could do it," he says. He happily hugs them both, then steps back.

"You two need to hurry. There will be a full moon tonight."

"Tonight?" Vegeta gasps. "Kami damn it! Then we should hurry. Follow me, Trunks."

Vegeta takes off into the blue sky.

They land on deserted grounds. Vegeta motions Trunks to sit down.

"This is the place where I first fought Kakarot," he explains. "I'll show you what you need to know about the ritual we'll perform tonight."

Mirai Trunks closes his eyes as Vegeta gently puts their foreheads together. Images are fed into his mind; flashes of pain and pleasure travel through his nerve cells. The ritual is very intense and the images make him realize that there is a chance that one of them will die while performing it.

The sun is already on its way down as they open their eyes again. Trunks breathes in deeply, trying to process the new information he has received.

"I never thought it would be this dangerous," he says.

Vegeta looks at him intently. "What did you expect? A devil's bond _is_ the most dangerous kind of bond. The ritual reflects the nature of the relationship that is to be."

Trunks hesitates a moment before he asks: "Are you really… willing to risk all this?"

Onyx eyes meet his crystal ones. Vegeta reassures Trunks without words that he is willing to risk the universe in order to establish this bond. They kiss each other tenderly, both knowing that tonight, there won't be anything even slightly resembling the tenderness they display now.

There will only be two dominant Saiyans trying to tear each other apart under the influence of the moonlight.

Goku rubs Trunks chest with a bar of soap. They're both in the hot tub outside of Goku's house. Vegeta is getting ready at Capsule Corp. Alone.

"I don't see the point," Trunks complains. "Why get all washed up, when in an hour or so we'll be at each other's throats trying to kill each other?"

"It's a matter of respect," Goku explains. Vegeta already told him about the ritual and its meaning.

"You must be clean before you start, thus showing your future mate you're willing to give up your past and offer him a future with you."

"Vegeta already knows that," Trunks growls.

"It's all about tradition. Rituals never make sense to people."

"Hn."

Goku gasps and blinks in surprise.

"What?" Trunks asks.

"You just copied Vegeta."

"So?"

"That's not supposed to happen until _after_ you bond."

Trunks shrugs. "Vegeta and I are very much alike. I don't think this was copying."

Goku continues working on Trunks' back.

"You two are a very special couple, Trunks. Whatever happens tonight, it'll be okay."

Trunks sighs. "I don't want to hurt him."

Goku laughs out loud. "Wait until moonrise, Trunks. You won't know what hits you. Two Trans-Oozarus! I hope the planet holds together!"

"Is it that bad?" Trunks lifts an eyebrow.

"He showed you the images, didn't he?"

"He did…"

Goku nods. "You've never seen a _real_ Trans-Oozaru before. I became one once."

Trunks turns his head to look at Goku. He is shocked when he sees the pain on Goku's face.

"I tore him apart… It was horrible. I can still feel the pain he suffered that day."

"Why didn't he become Trans-Oozaru as well?"

"We never had the potential to achieve a devil's bond. Once I became Trans-Oozaru, he was powerless to do so. There is some kind of mechanism inside of every Saiyan that blocks the ability to become Trans-Oozaru when there's already another Trans-Oozaru stomping around. Two Trans-Oozarus fighting each other can cause a planet to explode. Vegeta became a victim of that defense mechanism."

"But… what'll happen to Chikyuu when we fight tonight?"

"Hah! You don't think you will be fighting on this planet, or do you?"

"I see…"

"Get dressed. If I'd get you any cleaner, your skin would come off."

Trunks steps out of the tub and dries himself with ki. He puts on the black pants that Goku put there for him.

"Now for decoration. Sit down." Goku gets the small bowl filled with Trunks' blood. With his index finger, he paints Trunks' face with ritual figures.

"Kami, I don't want to know how I look right now," Trunks sighs, suspecting that Goku made him look like some kind of circus clown.

He gets up and adjusts his waistband. The light of the setting sun makes him look like he's on fire.

"You look divine," Goku whispers. He averts his eyes from Trunks; he's not supposed to lust for him right now.

"Go now," Goku says and turns to Saiya-go for a formal farewell. "Fare well in battle and death."

Trunks nods and takes off.

Vegeta has prepared for the ritual alone. He wants to be able to focus on Mirai Trunks and he knows he will not be able to do so when Goku is around. When he steps outside, he feels his blood rush through his veins. His heart rate is becoming higher every second.

'Kami damn it, I've been in denial. I've never felt such an _urge_ to bond.'

He takes off into the darkening skies. The place where they'll meet is the same place where he first fought Goku. As he touches down on a huge rock, he looks around with predator gaze. He doesn't have to wait long.

On a rock opposite from him, Mirai Trunks emerges from the shadows. It takes all of Vegeta's self-control not to gape at him in awe.

The warrior standing in front of him looks like a god.

Mirai Trunks experiences the same feelings as does Vegeta. He looks at the Saiyan Prince well-defined features in amazement. It's like he truly sees Vegeta; not just his physique, but the whole package at once.

The torment in his past, his shattered pride, his honor. The knowledge of how to be a true warrior, the sense of power and how to use it. And the love.

Mirai Trunks had never expected it, but Vegeta's love is what really throws him off his feet. The raw, passionate love. The will to defend his loved ones even beyond the claws of death. It burns in Vegeta's dark eyes like an unholy fire.

He watches how Vegeta puts two fingers to his forehead. He mirrors the movement and they faze out to reappear on an abandoned planet.


	13. Completion

**Chapter 13 – Completion**

The rays of the planet's moon fall directly onto the two Saiyans. Trunks feels his heart hammer inside his chest. For a moment he's afraid he'll die right then and there… and suddenly he transforms.

Red eyes glow in the dark shadows. Without warning the fight begins.

There is no use of ki, no strategy. Only raw power is used in order to survive, to get the upper hand. Both warriors are acting on pure instinct, punching, kicking and clawing at one another ferociously.

The intensity of the fight causes it to last only briefly. Mirai Trunks falls back into himself as his back hits the ground hard. The planet trembles underneath him. Vegeta, still in Trans-Oozaru form, is on top of him, snarling at him with bared fangs.

Mirai is furious about losing the fight. He snarls back at Vegeta before slipping out of Trans-Oozaru form. With immense effort he manages to throw Vegeta off of him. His face cringes in pain as he gets up. During the Trans-Oozaru fight, they inflicted serious damage to one another. Mirai is sure that he has several broken ribs. But he knows he has to run before Vegeta pulls himself together again. Those are the rules.

He turns around and starts running. Behind him, the beast Vegeta gets up. He looks terrifying with his red eyes, sharp claws and his spiky tail sticking out behind his back. He is not unharmed though. Deep cuts are on every inch of his body, blood seeping out of them. Mirai almost skinned him alive. Ignoring his injuries, Vegeta sniffs the air and chases his prey.

Mirai finds he has a big disadvantage because he doesn't know his surroundings. All Vegeta has to do is follow his scent, and in Trans-Oozaru form his injuries won't slow him down much. The mountains are treacherous and bounce back every sound tenfold. Mirai runs into a cave and rests for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts while studying the cave.

There are several tunnels converging and Mirai gets up to set some false trails. The beast Vegeta will get confused, that'll buy him some time. While he's climbing up to the ceiling of the cave, black spots dance before his eyes. He can't breathe in deeply because it hurts too much. Dizzy and wounded, Mirai waits for Vegeta to arrive.

The beast Vegeta storms into the cave, not even considering the possibility of a trap. Mirai Trunks' scent is everywhere, driving him crazy. He runs up and down the tunnels, but every trail is a dead end. Back in the cave, he runs around frantically, trying to find the right track.

When he's right under Mirai's hiding place, Mirai jumps him and knocks him off his feet. The beast Vegeta yelps in surprise, but swiftly reacts. Mirai can only barely avoid his claws and stumbles backwards.

Growling threateningly, the beast Vegeta approaches. Mirai's heart is pounding in his chest with fear. Still, he decides to stand his ground. He sees no point in running again. He can't outrun a Trans-Oozaru… Subconsciously growling back at the beast in front of him, he assumes a defensive stance. Vegeta's eyes glow up briefly before he attacks. Trunks feels his body whirling around in slow motion. The beast Vegeta twists his arm behind his back violently. Trunks grits his teeth at the pain when it dislocates from his shoulder. Still in slow motion, the ground rises up to him and hits him hard. Vegeta has pinned him face down to the hard rock surface of the cave.

Mirai's breath is ragged, his whole body aches vehemently. Fighting for air, he turns his head and looks up to his victor.

'Kami damn it,' Trunks thinks incoherently, 'even as a Trans-Oozaru he's attractive.' There's something about Vegeta hurting him, ravaging him, that turns him on very much.

The beast Vegeta looks down on his helpless prey with his trademark smirk on his face. One claw tears away the remains of their pants, the other keeps Trunks' arm twisted behind his back, canceling all escape possibilities.

Trunks squeezes his eyes shut as Vegeta enters him without warning. He groans, half in pain, half in pleasure. The beast Vegeta has no intention of holding back and quickens the pace. Soon, blood starts to seep out of Trunks, dripping onto the ground of the cave.

The smell of fresh blood causes Vegeta to release his iron grip on Trunks' arm. Instead, he grabs Trunks' hands and puts them beside Trunks' head. Trunks gasps as he feels the beast Vegeta's teeth sink into his shoulder. The loss of even more blood makes him feel blissfully dizzy. The rush travels down to his groin and he feels his body contract into an orgasm. At the same moment, Vegeta's thrusting becomes even faster as he reaches his own climax. They roar in unison, expressing their completion.

As the echoes of their screams die down in the cave, Trunks lifts up his head and looks at the moon, only barely visible from his position inside the cave. Before he transforms back to Trans-Oozaru, he notices that Vegeta has regained his Saiyan form now.

Vegeta hasn't even caught his breath as he feels sharp claws slashing into his bare back. Red eyes glow up in the darkness as the beast Trunks pulls him nearer. In a reflex movement, Vegeta elbows Trunks bluntly into his face and crawls out of the cave.

Where to go? He knows it's only a matter of time before Trunks catches him. He's hurt badly and can barely walk, let alone run. He's not allowed to use ki, otherwise he would use Instant Transmission to get a head start. He climbs the mountainside, reaching a platform in mere seconds.

When the beast Trunks comes out, Vegeta dumps a load of rocks on him from above. Instead of slowing Trunks down, Vegeta achieves the exact opposite. The beast Trunks becomes even more pissed off and throws the rocks back at him. Vegeta lacks the energy to dodge them in time. One of the rocks hits him in the forehead and Vegeta falls off the platform.

It's a good thing that Trunks catches him before he hits the ground. Barely conscious, Vegeta feels how Trunks' strong arms lift him up and pin him up against the mountainside. When Vegeta tries to push himself away from the rock surface, the beast Trunks grabs his wrists and pins his arms next to his head.

Vegeta glares over his shoulder, looking at the ferocious creature behind him. The beast Trunks looks at him intently and then does something unexpected; he crushes his mouth to Vegeta's and kisses him wildly. Vegeta responds eagerly, closing his eyes as Trunks enters him without holding back. Vegeta groans into the kiss as he feels how his flesh tears and blood starts to flow out of him.

It seems to last forever. Vegeta feels the waves of pain and pleasure wash through him with every stroke of Trunks' arousal. Through half-lidded eyes, he sees the beast Trunks bare his fangs to bite him. A perfect rush takes over his body and sends him over the edge. As his muscles clamp down on Trunks' arousal, he comes as well. They collapse onto the ground immediately.

Trunks transforms back again and looks down on an unconscious Vegeta. Now that his mind isn't clouded by lust and instinct anymore, he is shocked when he examines their bodies.

'I don't feel the pain anymore…' he thinks in wonder. 'I should be screaming in agony…'

His consciousness fades to black and he settles down on Vegeta's ruined body. Dawn colors the horizon pink. The two warriors lie there, completely motionless.


	14. Awakening

**Chapter 14 – Awakening**

Vegeta wakes up and instantly regrets doing so. Mirai Trunks is lying heavily on top of him, so he can't move an inch. He curses mentally, thus waking his new mate.

"What?" Trunks asks groggily. An intense groan emits from his throat as his ribs remind him of what happened last night.

He switches to telepathy as well.

'Kami damn it…'

'My thoughts exactly,' Vegeta comments sarcastically. For a few moments they just lie there, trying to stay conscious.

'You look like shit,' Vegeta provokes Trunks, to distract him from the pain.

'Yeah well, you look like I _feel_,' Trunks retorts. 'Trust me, that's worse.'

Then he changes the subject. 'It's a good thing we didn't bring senzu beans. I'd take one in a heartbeat.'

'Weakling,' Vegeta growls. 'Pain is just a feeling. It can be ignored.'

'Well, good luck with that,' Trunks chuckles. 'After all, you're the one who's going to get us home.'

'We don't have to get up to use Instant Transmission.'

'Thank Kami for that. I don't think I'll be able to get up… ever.'

'You'd be surprised how fast we can heal, kid. Here we go.'

Vegeta lifts his fingers to his forehead, grimacing in pain. They faze out.

They reappear inside the cabin in the woods on Chikyuu. Vegeta immediately passes out again after using his last ki to get them there. Mirai Trunks grabs a blanket to cover them and curls up to his mate to keep him warm.

Two days later…

Mirai curses like he never has done before.

"Shimatta, it's like it's getting _worse_ instead of better!"

"Look on the bright side, boy. At least you can talk again." Vegeta lies in bed comfortably, looking like a reincarnation of the Mummy. It took them a lot of time to dress all of his wounds.

"I don't understand how you can be so stoic under these circumstances," Mirai Trunks spits. He starts coughing, grabs his sides and curses again.

"You would improve a lot if you stopped worrying about your recovery. Just relax. You _will_ heal."

Black eyes burn into Trunks' blue ones.

"You're pissed off because we're not allowed to take senzu beans, am I right?"

Mirai Trunks lets out a ragged sigh. "I am. It's ridiculous."

Vegeta shakes his head. "It's not. It gives us the opportunity to get used to having each other around."

"I feel totally useless hanging around doing nothing."

"You're not doing nothing, you're healing. It's quite the opposite, believe me."

Mirai glares at Vegeta. "How so?"

"You said it's like it's getting worse. It's not. But because Saiyans heal fast, they have to withstand more pain than people who heal slowly. Humans, for example, heal slowly compared to us. They suffer less pain, but are doomed to stay in bed for a long time. Because your healing process is fast, it feels like it's not getting better. But it is. Trust me, in two or three days you'll be able to sneeze without passing out."

Mirai blushes as Vegeta refers to the incident that happened yesterday. As soon as he sneezed, the pain became too much to handle. He went out like a candle.

"I'd rather be able to walk again," Mirai growls. "And to bathe! Kami, I stink like a pig."

"No you don't," Vegeta says, smiling genuinely. Mirai amuses him endlessly.

The smell he is referring to are pheromones. Mirai is impatient.

Vegeta chuckles.

"What's so damn funny?"

"You're so cute when you act like that."

Mirai looks at him totally baffled. "Say _what_? Act like what?"

"Like a horny teenager," Vegeta says, grinning widely.

Mirai turns from pale to pink and averts his eyes.

"You mean…"

"That's the smell. I must have done something right when we bonded."

Mirai looks at him longingly. "It was heaven and hell at the same time. I can't describe it. I didn't care if I lived or died, as long as you didn't stop."

Vegeta ITs to Mirai's bed and curls up next to him.

"You need to rest," he whispers. "Don't worry about your recovery. Everything is going to be fine."

Mirai yawns with a grimace. "I'll take your word for it." He closes his eyes and enjoys the feel of Vegeta's hand stroking his hair before he falls asleep.

Vegeta is gone when Mirai wakes up again.

"What the…" He sits up and looks around. Wait a sec… Sitting up without passing out?

"How long have I been asleep?" he whispers.

"Three days," Vegeta's gruff voice hits his ears. "You needed it." He's wearing a pair of loose navy blue pants.

Mirai's mouth falls open. "Your wounds…"

"Almost gone. I can still tell where the big ones were though."

"Kami…"

"I told you we are fast healers." Vegeta sits down on his bed. "Can you get up?"

"I think so…" Mirai carefully gets out of bed, helped by Vegeta. They get to the bathroom, where Vegeta removes Mirai's bandages to check on his injuries.

"You won't be needing bandages anymore," Vegeta states. "Just take it easy for the next couple of days. If those ribs of yours heal the wrong way, they'll have to be broken again."

"I'll take it easy," Mirai promises, closing his eyes and leaning to the wall.

"Dizzy?" Vegeta inquires.

Mirai nods.

"You need to eat. We'll bathe after." He turns on the water, then helps Mirai get to the kitchen table and gets the capsulated food he brought in before.

Mirai digs in like a wolf, devouring the food. It never tasted as good as it does now.

'It feels like I'm eating for the first time in my life,' he says to Vegeta telepathically.

Vegeta nods. He has already eaten and he noticed the change as well. His Saiyan senses have always been sharp, but now that they're bonded, they seem to have improved even more.

'I'm beginning to understand my own impatience now,' Mirai thinks with a huge grin on his face.

'I doubt if the sex can improve,' Vegeta says, also grinning. 'It would probably kill us.'

'You know? I don't care.' Mirai's eyes are brighter than ever before.

'I know you don't. It's almost scaring me.'

Vegeta looks at the mess on the table. 'Are you done?'

Mirai carefully leans back and closes his eyes in delight. 'Yeah.' He's purring subconsciously, waving his tail behind his back lazily.

'Good. Let's get ourselves clean then.'

They carefully get into the tub. Vegeta washes the hard crusts of blood off Trunks' body, gently massaging his still aching muscles with the sponge. Mirai starts purring again, his eyes closed, his body relaxed. From time to time, he looks at his mate through half-lidded eyes. He admires Vegeta's hard, well-toned body.

'Will the scars stay?' he asks out of nowhere. He'd hate the thought of that; he marked Vegeta with his teeth, and that's enough. He has to admit that scars look good on Vegeta, but he would be comparing himself to Frieza if these scars would last.

'They won't. Only the bite mark.'

'Thank Kami for that.' Mirai relaxes again.

'I'd _never_ compare you to Frieza,' Vegeta assures him.

"That's good to know," Mirai whispers. His eyes grow wide as Vegeta works his way up his inner thighs. He grows hard as he notices that Vegeta takes his time for that particular area. More time than is necessary.

Mirai's head falls back as Vegeta gently massages his opening. New skin has already formed and it's very sensitive.

"Uuunhh," Mirai groans. His legs circle around Vegeta's back, pulling him closer. His hands grab Vegeta's arousal and start to stroke it slowly. Vegeta leans in for a kiss, rubbing his abs against Mirai's arousal. His hands find the base of Mirai's tail and they stroke it with short, swift motions. Mirai groans into the kiss and barely notices how Vegeta's mouth leaves his to work its way down.

Suddenly, Vegeta's hands cup his butt and lift him up until his arousal surfaces. With a wicked grin on his face, Vegeta lowers his head and teases Mirai's arousal with his tongue. His fingers probe his new mate's opening, stretching him.

Mirai's hips buck up to him, but Vegeta holds him down firmly. Mirai glares at him and growls in the back of his throat. Where Vegeta can make Goku beg, Mirai Trunks only gets pissed when he is teased. It turns Vegeta on and he waits just another second before deep throating Mirai's throbbing arousal. The glare Mirai fires at him right before that is beautiful. Blue eyes look at him feverishly from a flushed face, while Mirai's fangs are bared. Mirai doesn't _beg_, he _demands._ Vegeta is more than willing to give him whatever he wants.

Mirai's hands squeeze the edge of the tub so hard that it starts to crumble and break. Vegeta's fingers are still inside of him, stimulating his prostate and driving him crazy. He feels his climax approaching and opens his eyes. Vegeta captures his gaze as he increases the pace. Mirai can't control himself and screams incoherently as he spills his semen into Vegeta's hot mouth.

Before he knows what hits him, Vegeta removes his fingers and enters Mirai's tight heat. Mirai gasps at the sensation. Flashbacks from their bonding night shoot through his mind, but he soon comes down to earth and realizes that Vegeta has no intention to ravage him now like he did then. Vegeta waits patiently for Mirai to adjust, then starts to move very slowly.

Unlike inexperienced and impatient Mirai, Vegeta takes all the time in the world to explore his mate's body. Mirai holds on to him with strong arms, caressing Vegeta's shoulders and back. Cupping his butt cheeks, he follows Vegeta's rhythm, slowly rocking back and forth.

Mirai fists his hand into Vegeta's hair and brings him down for a passionate kiss. Looking at each other intently, they dare one another to lose control. To his own surprise, Vegeta loses this battle. Increasing the pace, his body soon contracts into an orgasm.

Needless to say, the bathtub needs to be replaced after they are done.


	15. Conflict

**Chapter 15 – Conflict**

Vegeta lies on the beach of the lake nearby the cabin, the warmth of the sun drying his wet body. Mirai is still in the water; he can't seem to get enough of it. Vegeta dozes off, a smile on his lips.

He is rudely awakened as Mirai drops down from the sky and uses Vegeta for a landing place. The ground shakes underneath them. Vegeta is given no time to curse at Mirai though; Mirai kisses him passionately, looking at him with bright blue eyes.

'Fucking moron,' Vegeta thinks. 'You're so happy, it disgusts me.'

'Aw, shut up, Vegeta. You were actually smiling in your sleep,' Mirai retorts, not impressed by Vegeta's comments.

'I was? Damn…'

'Dreaming of me, doubtless.' Mirai grins at him, breaking the kiss.

'Maybe…'

Their bodies have completely healed now. All that remains from their bonding night are the small white bite scars.

Thinking back, Mirai rolls off of Vegeta and settles down beside him.

'Vegeta… Did I hurt you when I took you that night?'

Vegeta avoids looking into Mirai's eyes and remains silent.

'Vegeta?'

Without a word or thought, the Saiyan Prince gets up and walks to the cabin. He doesn't look back.

Mirai sits up confused and looks at Vegeta's bare back retreating from him.

The next few days, Vegeta is very taciturn. Mirai tries to talk to him a few times, but Vegeta wants to be left alone.

This morning, Mirai loses his patience. He's tired of this so-called 'silent treatment'. He tries to convince Vegeta to talk to him, but it doesn't work. Vegeta's stubborn silence drives him crazy!

"Don't you dare walk away from me," Mirai hisses as Vegeta turns his back to him. "I'm your _mate_, Kami damn it. Spill it or I'll _make_ you tell me what's bugging you!"

Vegeta keeps walking and Mirai attacks, tackling him from behind. Vegeta reacts immediately, sweeping Mirai off his feet as well. They jump back to their feet simultaneously. Mirai growls in frustration. He hates it when Vegeta shuts him out. He severs their mental connection; it would be impossible to fight otherwise. They'd know each other's every move before they made it.

Vegeta unleashes a ki drain attack, thinking he can win this fight easily. Mirai however fires an ice blast at it, freezing it. Then he hits it and blows it into smithereens.

"New trick, huh?" Vegeta says, more than a little impressed. He has to learn not to underestimate Mirai Trunks. Vegeta falls back onto his old battle routines, hoping that it'll confuse Mirai.

He finds that Mirai's battle experience is more varied than he expected. Mirai adapts to Vegeta's moves with ease. Doubts cloud Vegeta's mind.

'He's drawing power and knowledge from my past experiences… How come I can't do the same with his past experiences? This bond should be allowing two-way traffic…'

Mirai's sharp senses pick up on Vegeta's doubts. He shakes his head with a grim look on his face.

"You won't be able to draw power from my experiences when you shut me out, Vegeta. You may be able to do that to Goku and Radditz, but I'm dominant. I'll let you choose right now: continue this fight that you cannot win or tell me what's on your mind."

Vegeta grits his teeth in frustration. He isn't used to getting ordered around by someone else.

"I've been holding back on you, Vegeta. If you choose to continue, I _will_ hurt you."

Vegeta never cared much about getting hurt. His bond to Mirai forbids him to be so indifferent though. Captured by his own thoughts, he winces in pain as Mirai attacks him unexpectedly and pins him down to the ground, twisting his arm behind his back.

"Now tell me what's going on," Mirai growls impatiently.

"You didn't…" Vegeta struggles to break free, but to no avail.

"Didn't what?"

"You didn't… hurt me… that night… I enjoyed… every second… of it…" A tear rolls down Vegeta's face.

Mirai's grip on Vegeta's arms loosens a bit.

"Then why all the secrecy?" Then it dawns on Mirai Trunks.

"You're ashamed…"

"What Frieza did to me was horrible," Vegeta whispers. "I always thought that submitting to _anyone_ was weak and humiliating. But it isn't… Not when I'm with you."

Mirai lets go of Vegeta's arm.

"Thank Kami for that," he says relieved. "You shouldn't be ashamed, Vegeta. You just need some time to get used to it."

"Hn." Vegeta gets up and rubs his shoulder. "Kakarot accused me of being conservative and narrow-minded in the past. He was probably right." He looks at Mirai and says: "We should be getting back to him. We've been gone for a long time."

"A week isn't such a long time."

"It is if your mate isn't around."

"Then how does Radditz cope?"

"Different kind of bond. Sometimes I think I need him more than he needs me. My agenda is going to be very full the next couple of years, trying to keep all of you happy."

Mirai nods. Three bonds is more than a handful.

"In that case, let's get going."

They take off into the blue sky.

Goku feels their kis approach and looks at Chi-Chi.

"They're back."

"About time," Chi-Chi comments. "I've had it with you hanging around the house sulking all day. You're like Bulma crying over Yamcha!"

Goku flashes her his trademark goofy grin. "I can't help it Chi… Without him around, I'm incomplete. Simple as that."

"You never seemed to have a problem leaving me alone for a week," Chi-Chi says sarcastically. When she notices how hurt Goku looks after that remark, she puts an arm around him and smiles.

"I didn't mean it," she says soothingly. "Jeez, Vegeta not being here really makes you vulnerable."

"I know. That's why I stayed here for the week. I'd probably end up killing people otherwise."

"You Saiyans are so weird," Chi-Chi says, shaking her head. "Just go outside and greet them. Kami, I hope I have enough food to feed all of you…"

Goku bounces outside, looking up to the two figures dropping down from the sky. He takes off and meets Vegeta halfway down in a fierce embrace.

'I've missed you so much…'

Their tails curl around each other while their lips lock in a passionate kiss.

'I've missed you too Kakarot.'

Vegeta turns his head at the mental growl of Mirai Trunks. He is shocked when he sees how Mirai powers up to SSJ3 and charges at them.

"What the…"

Goku is kicked away from Vegeta violently.

'Trunks, you baka, calm yourself down!' Vegeta scolds his new mate mentally, but to no avail. Mirai Trunks turns around and glares at him. Then he draws his sword and blasts off towards Goku.

"Kuso," Vegeta curses. He never saw this coming. He blazes down as well, powering up. It's his duty to help Goku defend himself… but because he's bonded to Mirai Trunks as well, he can't hurt him. Not too much anyway.

Vegeta's golden battle aura flares up wildly as he crashes into Mirai's back, pinning him down to the ground.

'Kakarotto, get your ass out of here.' It costs Vegeta much effort to keep Mirai down.

'Like hell I will,' Goku replies. He powers up as well.

'Nani? You dare to defy me?' Vegeta puts his knee into Mirai's back, trying to restrain him.

'If he wants to fight, so be it. I'm not a coward.'

Vegeta looks at Goku, concluding that the current situation is hopeless. Kakarot used to be dominant and will never run from a fight. Especially when his relationship with Vegeta is at stake.

'I'm not asking you to take sides, koi.' Goku nods at Mirai Trunks. 'Release him so we can settle this once and for all.'

'You're aware of the fact that he wants to _kill_ you?'

'I'd rather die than lose you.'

Convinced by Goku's strong willpower, Vegeta steps back and releases Mirai Trunks. He gets kicked right in the face and falls back, hitting the ground hard. Mirai growls at him, pissed off because his own mate had the nerve to attack him. Then he turns to face Goku.

Two SSJ3 warriors lunge at each other and collide. Chikyuu trembles underneath them as Vegeta watches his mates fight one another to the death.


	16. Toorah

**Chapter 16 – Toorah**

"Would you look at that?" In Otherworld, Toorah and Radditz watch as Goku and Mirai Trunks fight each other.

"Amazing. But foolish. They might blow up the planet using this much ki." Radditz frowns worriedly.

"Isn't there another way to solve this?" Toorah asks his father.

"I don't have a clue," Radditz admits. "It is a messed up situation: Vegeta never expected the devil's bond to be so strong and unique. He'd probably react the same way when Mirai Trunks bonded with someone else. That's the thing with those damned dominant Saiyans. They're so fucking aggressive, it's ridiculous."

Toorah's mouth falls open. "What did you just say?"

"That dominant Saiyans are needlessly violent?"

"No, before that… Father, you're a genius! I know how to settle this without anyone getting killed!"

"What are you talking about?" Radditz looks at the empty space beside him.

His son is gone.

It takes all of Vegeta's self-control to refrain from participating in the fight. At first, Kakarot was winning, but at long last it seems that Mirai Trunks is having the upper hand. They already transformed back to Saiyan form, the fight was too intense to last long.

Mirai Trunks swings his sword at Goku, who catches it with his bare hands. Blood starts to drip to the ground as Mirai pushes the blade down.

Groaning, Goku falls down on one knee. Vegeta is torn apart on the sideline. He knows is supposed to help Kakarot, but he is also bonded to Mirai and has to do as he wishes. Tears of despair well up in his eyes…

Goku looks up at Mirai Trunks, feeling dizzy from the loss of blood. He knows the fight is over. Still he can't convince himself to let go of the blade. His instinct tells him to hold on just one more moment…

Goku gasps and looks past Mirai as he sees a familiar face. Mirai Trunks is distracted and pulls back his sword, thus giving Goku a chance to escape. He looks over his shoulder and then the world fades to black.

"What the hell just happened?" Vegeta, his vision blurred by his own tears, hasn't seen what just happened.

"He just vanished…" Goku chokes out. "I thought I saw Toorah…"

"Toorah? What the hell has he got to do with anything?"

"I think your son just saved my ass," Goku states tiredly. "I don't know what he's up to, but he probably knows what he's doing."

Vegeta ITs them to the hospital wing of Capsule Corp.

"Just patch me up, Vegeta. No senzu."

"You want to heal naturally?"

Goku nods with a weak smile. "You've been away for a long time, now you'll have to take care of me."

"I love the sound of that," Vegeta smirks. He starts to work on Goku's injuries and then takes off to the cabin in the woods, carrying his sleeping mate in his arms.

Mirai Trunks finds himself in the darkness that surrounds him. A bright light appears in front of him and he recognizes Toorah's face. He growls, instinctively knowing it was Toorah who took him away from the fight. The darkness remains, making him realize that he's not regained his consciousness yet.

'Stop growling, you idiot,' Toorah says. 'Don't you see? I saved all of your asses by taking you away from the fight. If you would have killed Kakarot, Vegeta would have been miserable for the rest of his life. He'd be devastated, and so would you, since you are bonded.'

Mirai glares at Toorah defiantly.

'I don't believe you. If that's true, I would never have been able to even attack Goku. My bond with Vegeta forbids me to do anything that would harm him.'

'Your bond with Vegeta also tells you to destroy anyone who could represent a threat to your relationship. I don't know if you were really able to kill Kakarot, but I figured it'd be best if we didn't find out.'

'Hn. You can't keep me here against my will, Toorah. I will go back there and finish what I've started.'

Toorah chuckles. 'In your dreams, Trunks.'

'Nani?'

'There's no way I let you get away from me now… You're talking about my father and my uncle here! I won't let you harm them…'

'Screw you, Toorah!' Mirai curses his weak body for not waking up. He gasps as he hears Toorah's reply:

'That's a very interesting suggestion indeed, Trunks.'

Mirai wakes up, fighting for air. He looks around frantically, but Toorah is nowhere to be seen. Mirai gets up and walks out of the room. He recognizes the cave where he celebrated his first Saiyan victory party.

'Thank Kami. All I have to do is IT myself out of here.'

Mirai puts his fingers to his forehead and vanishes.

When he opens his eyes, he's still inside the cave. Toorah looks up to him from below and grins.

'Uh-uh, Trunks. I made sure you won't be able to escape that way.'

"You Kami-damned bastard! What have you done to me?" Mirai screams down to him.

"I gave you a time-out, Trunks. Plain and simple. As long as your motivation to return to Chikyuu is the destruction of Kakarot, you won't be able to leave here." Toorah floats up to where Mirai is standing.

He fazes out and reappears right in front of Mirai, grabbing his throat and pushing him up against the wall.

"Don't you dare call _me_ a bastard," he hisses. "I never killed anyone who didn't deserve it. You on the other hand are an obsessed psychopath who is desperately in need of help. There are two ways to do this, Trunks. Either you let me help you through this, or…"

"Or what, big guy?" Sarcasm drips from Mirai's voice.

"Or you'd force me into doing things I don't want to do to you," Toorah growls.

"Touching. I never knew you cared."

"I do. Not just because I'm supposed to look after my family, but also because I care about _you_."

"If you care about me, you let me go take care of my business."

"Forget it." Toorah releases him and jumps back to the floor.

Two days later. The situation is driving Mirai Trunks insane. His instincts tell him that he _has_ to find a way back to Chikyuu and claim his mate. But he's stuck here… He's tried everything to convince Toorah to let him go. He even talked to Radditz and King Vegeta, but to no avail.

"Fucking bastards," he whispers powerlessly. Fever burns inside his body. He hasn't eaten in two days. He feels restless. And Kami damn it, horny as hell. He can't help himself; images of Vegeta flash through his mind.

Naked.

Crawling.

Sucking.

Coming.

Tears well up in his eyes as he rolls into a fetal position. Sobs rack through his body.

"Trunks?" Toorah carefully enters the room, expecting Mirai to attack him.

"Seems… to be… my destiny…" he hears Trunks choke out. "To have… others… dominate me… against my will…"

He approaches Mirai Trunks and puts a hand on his trembling shoulder.

Mirai slaps his hand away and crawls back until he reaches the nearest wall.

"Get away from me," he pleads. "I can't… take this anymore…"

"Let me help you, Trunks," Toorah says. "Just let me in."

Mirai leaps forward and throws Toorah off his feet. Holding him down, he hisses: "If you want to help me, _let me go!_ Being away from Vegeta is _killing_ me!"

Waves of despair wash over Toorah as he looks in Mirai's eyes.

"I can't let you go," he replies in a determined way.

Mirai Trunks bares his fangs and hits Toorah repeatedly. He soon feels how Toorah lifts him up and swings him into a wall. Mirai crashes through it and lands in the cave hall. He jumps to his feet and watches how Toorah flies at him. Rage clouds his mind and senses as he flies up to fight the other Saiyan.

Radditz senses the rise in ki and runs inside. Warriors form a ring around the two fighters circling around each other.

"It's about time someone had a decent fight again," Nappa smirks as he notices Radditz enter the hall.

Radditz sighs in defeat. "This is going to cost us another mountain."

Nappa chuckles. "It's the only way to go!"

"I just hope Toorah gets out of this in one piece."

Nappa looks at Radditz surprised. "Are you kidding me? No one here is a match for him, why would this half-breed be?"

"He's Vegeta's future son."

"Nani?" Nappa's jaw almost drops to the floor. "Then this could get very interesting…"

They refrain from further comments as the watch the fight. Surely, the mountain starts to crumble and collapse in an early stage of the fight. The other Saiyans have to run to prevent being buried alive.

Toorah and Mirai Trunks continue their fight outside…


	17. Taken

**Chapter 17 – Taken**

Mirai comes to very abruptly as he feels strong hands caress his back. For a split second he thinks he is back on Chikyuu, but as soon as he notices the rock walls and floor he realizes the truth.

Toorah defeated him.

'Finally awake… I was beginning to think you'd stay under.' Toorah's voice inside his head sounds soothing enough, but Mirai still doesn't trust him. He growls at Toorah, warning him to keep his distance.

'I know this must be awkward for you,' Toorah continues his train of thought. 'After all, you see me as a submissive Saiyan. How I treated you is considered an insult to every dominant Saiyan. Guess I insulted myself as well then.'

Mirai gasps. "You're a _dominant_ Saiyan?" he asks hoarsely.

"Yes and no. I'm both."

"Is that even possible?" Mirai carefully sits up, silently thanking Kami that he doesn't have any broken bones this time.

"It shouldn't be, but it happened. Tough. Personally, I don't give a shit. I don't care whether I am dominant or submissive in a relationship. It was convenient that you needed a strong-willed warrior to set you straight."

"Set me straight? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"When you fought Kakarot on Chikyuu, Radditz said something about how Vegeta would probably react the same way you did if _you_ were bonded to someone else. Then I thought: why not? Two bonds might keep you in balance."

Mirai looks at Toorah in astonishment. Then he shakes his head.

"Impossible. Vegeta is my mate." He clenches his fists at his side. "What you suggest now is truly an insult. Was this the reason you came to me at the victory party? You wanted me for yourself?"

"I can't deny my feelings," Toorah says, almost shy. "Kami damn it Trunks, have you looked in a mirror lately? It's a miracle the other Saiyans left you in peace up till now. And that's only because they knew they had to face me if they'd lust for you."

'Ridiculous,' Mirai thinks. 'There's no way I'd be interested in bonding again. I won't be talked into this!'

'Give it some thought, Trunks. Until you decide, you stay here. You need to heal.'

'No senzu beans in this Kami forsaken place?'

'Never carried the stuff. Saiyans consider healers and that kind of thing to be for the weak. We heal on our own or we die on the battlefield.'

'Great.' Mirai falls back onto the bed and closes his eyes in defeat.

Unwanted thoughts appear in Mirai's mind every time Toorah is around. Mirai catches himself admiring Toorah's body, the way he walks, even the way he smells… It's driving him nuts.

He knows very well that Toorah is trying to seduce him and he is determined not to give in to his games. His own horniness doesn't make this task any easier though…

Mirai shows that he's a true son of his father in the following days. He treats Toorah like shit, even though Toorah's taking excellent care of him. He considers even _liking_ Toorah a sign of utter weakness.

'He is never going to win this,' Mirai thinks. 'He can keep me here forever, I won't give in to his ridiculous plan.'

He stands on a ledge outside of their new mountain, watching Saiyan warriors take each other on in the ring below.

He can't help but admire Toorah's fighting skills. Because his destiny was to defeat Glacier, he received some help from the gods, resulting in an almost magical fighting style.

At the moment, Toorah is taking on three Elite soldiers single-handedly. Nappa is one of them. Toorah is putting up a good fight, until Nappa gets a hold of his tail and yanks it. Toorah falls to his knees in pain, bringing up his arm in defense. Nappa grins evilly as he twists Toorah's arm and pins him down to the ground.

A low growl emits from the crowd standing around the ring. Nappa is not making any friends with his action. Mirai senses anger and humiliation from Toorah, and before he even realizes what he's doing, he plummets down to the ring and kicks Nappa away from Toorah.

Crossing his arms over his chest, he stares Nappa down as soon as he manages to get up. Nappa exits without looking back.

"That was the stupidest mistake I've ever seen," Mirai says to Toorah, while looking at Nappa's retreating back. "Never give the enemy the chance to even come near your tail."

"I never expected him to do that," Toorah defends himself. "We're all Saiyans here…"

"What the hell did he say to you?" Mirai turns around now to face an embarrassed Toorah.

"Nothing." Toorah doesn't seem to want to answer that question. The fact that Nappa's been after Vegeta already and is now after Toorah is common knowledge.

"Arigato, Trunks."

"Will you let me out of here now?" Mirai looks at Toorah intently.

"No."

"Then don't thank me. Next time, I'll be on _his_ side."

Toorah sighs as Mirai Trunks takes off into the sky. Then he decides to follow him.

Mirai touches down on the ground as soon as he senses Toorah's ki trailing behind him.

"What the hell is it now?" he growls impatiently. They are in the woods now, unseen by anyone.

"You're right. If I don't let you return to Chikyuu, you'd probably team up with Nappa. To be honest with you, Trunks, I thought that you would be exactly like my father. But you're actually even more proud and stubborn than he is."

"Well, thanks for the compliment. Will you give back my Instant Transmission abilities now?"

"You'll have to kiss me to get them back."

Mirai looks at Toorah with a look that says: "You have _got_ to be kidding me."

"I'm serious! It's the only way to break the spell!" Toorah blushes, but doesn't move an inch.

'You're a hopeless romantic,' Mirai thinks before fisting his hand into Toorah's messy spikes and crushing their lips together. He feels the atmosphere around them change and opens his eyes…

To look at the bright light of the full moon shining down on Chikyuu.

"_You_ _son of a bitch!_ You tricked me!" Mirai stumbles back and covers his eyes, but it's already too late. His blood burns as he transforms. The world becomes red.

Toorah's bite brings him back to his senses. Groaning, Mirai collapses on the bloody and sweaty body of his new mate.

"You… _asshole…_" he chokes out.

Toorah chuckles tiredly. "Trust me, koi. You will never regret tonight."

"You'd better make sure I don't."

Toorah's tail curls up to entwine with Mirai's. Half asleep, Mirai smiles at the sensation. A deep purr rumbles through the forest.


	18. Reunited

**Chapter 18 – Reunited**

Goku wakes up groggily and tries to remember what happened the night before. A smile forms on his face as memories come back to him.

_Running through the hills. Almost panicking. The sound of the Trans-Oozaru Vegeta behind him._

_Into a cave. Darkness. And a dead end. Claws flashing, teeth shimmering in the dark._

_Vegeta's red eyes…_

_A stabbing pain in his shoulder as Vegeta bites him. Life is drained from him as Vegeta drinks him hungrily._

_He is flipped to his stomach and pinned down. Dizziness overtakes him as Vegeta enters him._

_He screams. Filled with pain and pleasure, he howls into the darkness as Vegeta takes him._

_Somewhere inside his mind, his words said to Vegeta a long time ago echo back to him now:_

'_Losing to you sounds so good…'_

"It was more than just 'good', Kakarot," Vegeta wakes him from his little daydream. "Kami, I really needed that."

Goku grins widely. "So did I…"

"You're losing credibility as a former dominant Saiyan, Kakarot. No one likes to lose _that_ much."

"I do," Goku says seductively. "And I'll kick your ass if you don't shut up about it now."

Vegeta smirks.

"Sure you will."

Goku suddenly focuses his gaze on a point somewhere outside.

"What?"

He doesn't need to answer the question, Vegeta feels it too.

"We'd better take some senzu and get them to Capsule Corp."

They soon land next to the beaten and bloody bodies of Toorah and Mirai Trunks. Vegeta smiles.

"Smart kid," he says to Goku. "He convinced Mirai Trunks to bond with him. I don't think we'll have any more problems with the jealousy thing now."

"I hope not," Goku answers. "I'm sick and tired of being forced to fight him all the time."

"Sounds… familiar… huh?" Mirai groans, opening one eye.

"Don't talk, boy. You need to rest." Vegeta looks at him affectively as he picks him up. Goku picks up Toorah and they take off towards Capsule Corp.

Several days later, in a cabin in the woods…

Mirai Trunks awakes slowly and recognizes the smell of breakfast.

'Toorah, thank Kami for you.'

'You can thank me later, koi.' Toorah's arrogance surprises Mirai, but he shrugs it off. It's impossible to know whether Toorah will wake up as a dominant or a submissive partner. He gets out of bed and walks into the kitchen. Toorah's at the counter, piling up pancakes and other food on two plates.

Mirai grabs his ass and whispers into his ear: "How about saving breakfast for later?"

"Forget it, koi. I'm not letting this good food go to waste." Toorah removes Mirai's hands determinedly and sits at the table.

"You'll have to wait."

Mirai knows that his mate is playing games with him and sits down as well.

'I was never good at waiting to get what I want,' he teases Toorah. He slides his foot up Toorah's leg and massages his crotch with the toes.

'You son of a…'

'If you insist on waiting, I suggest you eat outside. You know I can't control myself when you're around.'

"Then perhaps you should learn," Toorah growls dangerously.

"Teach me," Mirai says seductively.

Toorah snarls and lunges himself at his mate, genuinely pissed off now.

'Have I ever told you that you're beautiful when you're mad?'

'Do you have a death wish?'

Toorah blasts Mirai right through the wall of the cabin.

'I am so telling your dad about this,' Mirai chuckles.

'Go right ahead, he'll probably whip your ass again for being such a jerk.'

'Sounds great.'

'If that's the way you want it, that's the way you get it, Trunks.'

Mirai smirks. He just won the battle.

Toorah attacks him ferociously, but Mirai's already gone. He soon reemerges from the cabin, tying his sword to his back.

'I just happen to know you get off on swords and bare chests,' he teases some more.

'That's a cheap shot. Everyone does.' Toorah fires a tractor beam at Mirai, capturing him and pulling him closer.

'But have I ever told you I get turned on even more when the bare chest is helplessly struggling to get free?'

"Baka. I'm… not… helpless…"

Mirai keeps struggling, but fails to break free. "What kind of… attack is this?" he grunts.

Toorah's face darkens. "It's the attack I used on Glacier right before I finished him off."

Mirai's eyes grow wide. It's nothing like Toorah to remind him of his divine superiority… His thoughts are interrupted by a blow to the head, almost knocking him out.

He crawls back to his feet, right in time to be lifted up and pinned to a nearby tree by his mate.

"Unh!"

"Bare chests and swords… I'll teach you, you little runt!"

Mirai enjoys every detail of Toorah's enraged face.

'Please do.'

"Ugh… Down with you." Toorah pushes Mirai down to his knees, undoing his pants with his other hand.

Mirai grins widely and takes Toorah's throbbing arousal into his mouth.

'Yep, it's turning you on alright.'

He feels how Toorah's hand grabs his hair and holds his head in place.

'Oops.'

'Can't shut up, can you?' Toorah's thoughts are irritated. He's pissed at himself because he let Mirai get to him again.

Looking down on the purple-haired Saiyan, he thrusts forward just a little harder than he intended to. Choking noises erupt from his mate.

'If you keep this up I'll puke all over you,' Mirai warns him.

'If _you_ keep this up I won't care about that.'

Toorah thrusts again, slower this time, giving Mirai a little time to relax his throat muscles and deep throat him.

Strong hands turn Mirai around and push him up against the tree.

"Ah!" Mirai squeezes his eyes shut as Toorah pokes into him with his fingers.

"What are you complaining about? I might as well take you now, insolent brat."

"What's stopping you?" Mirai's blue eyes glance back at him, daring him to lose control.

"Nothing indeed," Toorah grins as he tears into Mirai's tight heat.

Mirai's hands claw into the bark of the tree as Toorah hammers into him. Pain and pleasure mix into bliss as he moves back to meet each new thrust.

A hand circles around him and starts pumping his arousal. Mirai blacks out for a moments when he comes.

"That was very entertaining indeed."

Red fabric rustles as a dark form steps out from the shadows of the trees.

Mirai gasps as he recognizes the cold voice addressing Toorah and him.

"You weren't so cooperative when we used to do this, isn't it, you little bitch?"

"King Vegeta?" Toorah is confused as he watches how the king approaches them.

"He's not our King Vegeta, Toorah," Mirai hisses. "Be warned."

"Oh no, I'm definitely not the same king as the old bastard of this dimension," the king continues. "I'd never let anyone become more powerful than me."

"Our king has nothing to fear from us," Toorah says, getting up and pulling up his pants in the process. "What is your business here?"

"I have come to claim what is rightfully mine," King Vegeta says and points to Mirai Trunks.

Toorah steps forward and assumes a defensive stance in front of Mirai.

"He's my mate, you can't have him."

King Vegeta cocks an eyebrow.

"And I thought it was the Prince that claimed him?"

"We both did." Vegeta appears out of nowhere. "Trunks, go find your pants and get ready to fight. We don't have much time."

'Father?' Toorah wants to know what's going on.

'I underestimated the powers of this king,' Vegeta has to admit. 'It seems he can control interdimensional traveling and the rules between this world and Otherworld.'

"Correct. I made sure that when you die this time, you cannot be wished back, brat. You will disappear from this realm completely." King Vegeta smirks.

"So, are you ready to fight?"

Radditz appears out of nowhere, joining the Vegeta family.

"We are."


	19. Final battle

**Chapter 19 – Final battle**

'Radditz, get out of here! You know you're no match for him!' Vegeta desperately tries to convince Radditz, but he won't give in.

'I don't give a damn, Vegeta. I'm sworn to protect you, I won't let you die at the hands of this monster.'

'I won't be able to concentrate when you're here!'

'I'm not a child anymore Vegeta, and neither are you. Don't worry about me, I'll take care of myself.'

Vegeta growls in the back of his throat.

'What is it with people giving _me_ commands these days?'

Mirai comes out of the cabin, drawing his sword and positioning himself next to Prince Vegeta.

'What is it with _me_ these days? Why is everyone after my ass?' Mirai asks in reply to Vegeta's question.

'I wouldn't know,' Radditz remarks. 'Must be the exotic hair color.'

'Ugh. Whatever. Vegeta, you know the king better than anyone. How are we going to defeat him?'

'To be honest, I don't have a fucking clue. I thought we got rid of him the last time we defeated him.'

Mirai Trunks gasps in surprise. "Are you _shitting_ me? You don't know how?"

"All I know is that we're going to try."

"If you die today…"

"There will be no tomorrow. I know."

King Vegeta stretches out his hands. "I'm tired of all this talk. Let's play!"

Shadows all around. A voice commanding him to obey. Red blood…

'Snap out of it, all of you. Don't let him get to you, he's trying to control you.'

Vegeta's guiding voice reassures them, gives them hope.

Toorah opens his eyes again. The prince and the king are standing opposite each other, hands clenched together, fangs bared. A wordless battle is fought between them.

"A foolish thing to do, brat. You shouldn't even come near me! I can squeeze the life out of you, just like last time we met…"

The prince screams as the king reminds him of their last encounter. Mirai lunges at the king and swings his sword down.

'Gotcha.' The voice of the king echoes inside his mind as he looks down on the dying form of the prince, choking on his own blood.

"N… nani?"

'Don't worry, Trunks, I'm fine. He's playing tricks on you.'

'But it feels…'

'Real? Reality has many faces.'

'Where are you?'

'Right beside you. Try to stay calm.'

"This is annoying," King Vegeta decides. "It's Vegeta I want, and the little bitch. As for the rest of you…"

He speaks words in ancient Saiya-go and Mirai feels the ground dissolve under his feet.

'What's happening?'

'He's isolating us from the others, to make us nervous. Stay calm.'

They reappear in a foggy world, their surroundings are grey.

"All mine…" They can't see the king, but they can sense his presence all around them.

"Now who comes first? The brat, or the bitch?"

A cold breeze sweeps past them.

Mirai feels drops of sweat form on his brow. He isn't used to this kind of battle. For Kami's sake, he isn't a mastermind! He isn't skilled in the battle of the mind at all. Tears well up in his eyes as he starts to feel powerless.

'Trunks?'

He swiftly wipes away the upcoming tears. 'Nothing. I just wish I was more skilled in mind battles.'

Suddenly, Vegeta is cast away into a rock wall. The moment Mirai turns around, he too is hit and plummets into a pile of rocks.

'I can't _see_ him!' he cries mentally to Vegeta.

'There's more than one way to see,' Vegeta offers wisely.

'How?'

'You have to do that yourself, Trunks. I can only show you the way.'

Fear overwhelms Mirai Trunks as the voice of Vegeta fades away. His breathing becomes ragged.

'Don't panic, don't panic,' he repeats to himself. He forces his breathing back to normal and closes his eyes.

The king is right next to him. How the hell he is able to see him now, Mirai hasn't got a clue. But there he is, standing out perfectly clear.

The king chuckles softly.

"Very impressive, little bitch. But now what will you do?"

"I know… I'm not supposed to fight you physically," Mirai says, hesitating slightly.

"Do you know or do you think you know?"

"I know." Mirai's eyes become brighter as he looks at his opponent.

"I also know I'm sick and tired of listening to your BULLSHIT!" Mirai's eyes become black orbs now and he lunges himself at the king, sword first. The king is unable to block the attack, but whirls around in a reflex movement. The sword doesn't do a lot of damage and hits the ground.

"What's this? Guided by a mastermind?"

The king raises his hands and speaks a phrase in ancient Saiya-go again. Mirai is hit with a tremendous force and is unable to get up afterwards. Some power is holding him down fiercely.

"I already anticipated that the brat would back you up," the king says while threateningly approaching Mirai. "You should have learned by now that I am not that easy to defeat."

Mirai lifts his fingers to his forehead and fazes out. He reappears behind the king and hisses: "Neither am I."

In a fluid movement, he grabs the king's arm and swings him into a pile of rocks. He leaps forward to regain his sword… but the king is already there, waiting for him.

The world seems to move in slow motion as Mirai runs up a wall and jumps over the king. He pushes away from the opposite wall and crashes into King Vegeta, grabbing the hand that holds his sword.

"That belongs to _me_," he snarls.

"You've got the world mixed up, bitch. You belong to me, and so does everything you own." King Vegeta's eyes glow red and Mirai backs away.

'He wouldn't…'

"Oh yes he would," the king replies before transforming into Trans-Oozaru.

"_Mine_," the beast grunts.

'Screw this.' Mirai closes his eyes and pictures the full Chikyuu moon. His blood boils as he opens his eyes… as a Trans-Oozaru.

"Huh?" the beast Vegeta grunts in surprise.

"Let me tell you a little secret: since the prince and I achieved a devil's bond, I can become Trans-Oozaru at will. And since your transformation is only imaginary, I will defeat you in this form."

The beast Vegeta growls at him and attacks.

Grunts and yelps echo through the wastelands as the king and his grandson fight each other.

_Claws are everywhere. He can't run from them. He feels how they tear away his skin, his flesh and consequently hit the bones underneath. It hurts… Kami it hurts…_

Mirai wakes up screaming, waving his arms around and kicking the covers away.

"Trunks, relax. You're safe now."

It takes him several seconds to recognize Goku's face.

"Goku?"

"I'm here. You're safe now. The king is gone."

"Forever?"

"He won't be back."

Mirai looks around as if he expects the king to barge in on them. After a few moments, he calms down.

"Where is Vegeta?"

"Resting as well."

Mirai sits up and closes his eyes. Then he glares at Goku.

"I can't sense him."

"He's asleep."

"You're lying!"

_The vision fades away. He hears Goku laughing at him. The claws are back again, skinning him alive. A furry tail swings by and he grabs it, causing the beast Vegeta to yelp in pain. He crawls on top of the royal beast and brings down his deadly jaws to deliver the final bite to the king's exposed throat._

"Trunks?"

Toorah's soothing voice hits his ears.

"Are you awake?"

Mirai shifts and grunts in pain. He feels bandages cover his body. This seems very familiar.

"Man, Trans-Oozaru fights suck. I don't care whether that's blasphemy in the Saiyan world."

"He damaged you good," Toorah smiles. "But I'll enjoy nursing you back to health."

"Last time we were together you didn't seem too concerned about my physical health," Mirai chuckles.

"I knew you could handle it."

"Handle what?" Mirai looks at Toorah expectantly, waiting for an answer.

_The vision fades away. 'How long can you keep this up, Vegeta?' Mirai grunts into the king's mind. 'I won't let you win. You might as well save yourself the trouble.'_

_The king retorts with a vicious attack, pinning the beast Trunks down to the ground._

"_Unh!"_

"_That's it, scream for me, little bitch. Just like you used to do."_

_The beast Trunks turns its head and snarls at the Trans-Oozaru on top of him._

"_In… your… dreams."_

The world moves in slow motion again. Mirai pulls up his knee and throws the king off of him. He jumps up and goes after him, chasing him like the prey he is. He charges up a ki blast and fires repeatedly at the king.

'Die, you son of a bitch.'

Mirai falls back into his body again. He recognizes Toorah and Radditz, their faces grimacing in horror. He looks at his own bloody hands and then down onto the remains of his mate.

King Vegeta fooled them all.


	20. Peace

**Chapter 20 – Peace**

They had to restrain Mirai Trunks to keep him from killing himself. Toorah struggled to hold on to him, while tears blurred his vision. He just lost his father for good.

In the background, Radditz collapsed after losing his mate.

'Trunks… Onegai… I know it hurts. Calm yourself down.' Toorah tried to console his mate, but to no avail.

There weren't any rational thoughts found on the quest into Mirai's mind. Only an incredible sadness. After trying to kill himself, he went totally apathic. He sat on a bed in the medical wing for days, just staring at the wall. All life seemed to have left him at the moment he killed his mate.

Toorah looks up from Mirai's bed, his face stained with tears. As soon as he recognizes the man standing in the doorway, he attacks.

"You son of a bitch! Where were you when we needed you most? You are supposed to _protect _your mate, not abandon him!"

"Toorah, calm your ass down. I have word from King Yemma."

Toorah looks at Goku, wild hope flares over his face.

"Is he… still alive?"

"No. But he isn't gone forever like the king claimed. He was bluffing, Toorah."

"Impossible. The grief is real!"

"Yeah, I know. I'd never play poker with that guy." Goku winks at Toorah. "Trust me. Would I be smiling if Vegeta was gone for good?"

"Can we wish him back?"

"We can if the Kais give their permission. King Kai is having a meeting as we speak."

Toorah's legs give out from under him as relief washes through him.

"Whoa, easy. You'd better rest. I'll take care of things."

"Kakarot… Arigato. I'll never be able to repay you."

"You don't need to. Now sleep."

Goku glances at Mirai Trunks before he exits. The lavender-haired youngster still hasn't moved a muscle yet…

The next day…

"Trunks?"

'Trunks?'

"Wake up, brat!"

"It's no use, Vegeta. He's been like this ever since he killed you." Goku puts a hand on Vegeta's shoulder, but Vegeta shrugs it off.

"He has to snap out of it!"

"It takes time. We need to be patient."

Vegeta growls in the back of his throat.

"He's a Saiyan, for Kami's sake. He shouldn't be this shocked by killing someone."

"That someone happened to be his mate, Vegeta. Would you stop being such an asshole? You're only making it worse if you keep this up!"

"If you keep this up…" A faint whisper, barely audible, emerges from Mirai's lips.

"Trunks! Can you hear me?" Vegeta shakes his mate, only causing Mirai to fall backwards onto the bed.

Mirai shakes his head slowly.

"You're not… _real_…" he whispers.

"Kami damn it, boy, I am! Yemma granted me life!"

Mirai shakes his head again. A single tear rolls down his cheek. "No…"

His eyes become vacant again.

Vegeta curses like there's no tomorrow.

'Vegeta… koi… He will snap out of it. Until then, we need to wait. You've already accomplished a lot today.'

"He's denying my very existence! I accomplished a great deal, yeah!"

'Ssshhhh…'

Goku rubs Vegeta's back with ki until his mate relaxes a bit.

A shivering sigh escapes from Vegeta. Then Toorah comes in. He looks almost transparent as he collapses on the bed, sobbing violently.

"Father… It's no use. We've tried _everything_… What if he doesn't want to come back?"

"He'll be back, son. Try not to worry. You have to be strong for your mate."

Dark eyes mirror Vegeta's. Toorah nods bravely.

"I'll stay here then."

He curls up to the motionless body of his mate, feeding ki into it to keep it warm.

'We'll be back to check on you, son.'

It takes them several days to get through to Mirai. He seems to react to words that are still fresh in his memory. Toorah achieves their final breakthrough: by accident, he answers Goku's question "Still nothing?" with the words "Nothing indeed". Mirai jolts up at the sound of that and looks at Toorah expectantly.

"Trunks?"

No answer, but still that focused, intent gaze. Suddenly, Toorah smells pheromones. He smiles as he remembers the exact situation in which he said those words to Mirai.

Without warning, he crushes his mouth to Mirai's. To his own surprise, he is welcomed enthusiastically. Mirai responds so eagerly that Toorah never notices Goku walking out of the room.

He groans as he is flipped onto his stomach and Mirai caresses his tail with skillful hands.

'Trunks… By Kami, I love you so much…'

'Aishiteru, Toorah.'

Toorah looks back at Mirai's answer and consequently shuts his eyes when he feels how Mirai enters him. Mirai pulls him to his hands and knees, gaining better access to Toorah's arousal.

Toorah's breathing becomes faster with every stroke of Mirai's arousal. He won't be able to last long, never before has he felt so relieved…

"Trunks… Onegai… Don't stop…"

"I… won't…" Mirai's breathing is ragged and becomes more irregular by the second. Toorah can sense how close he is. They climax at the very same moment, collapsing onto the bed, trying to catch their breath.

'Koi?'

'Yes?'

'Does this mean… you're back?'

'What do you mean? Have I been gone?'

Bright blue eyes look into Toorah's onyx ones, not understanding what Toorah's talking about.

'Never mind. It's not important now.'

A deep purr rumbles through the room as Toorah settles down next to his mate. Mirai is already snoring softly.


	21. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

A deep purr rumbles through the cave. After Mirai's recovery, the whole Vegeta family assembled in Otherworld, where the spirits of the Saiyan race remain.

Radditz – 'It's getting crowded in here. If this is to be our future orgy place, I'd better get me a bigger cave.'

Vegeta – 'Make it a suite. After all, you're all part of the royal family. Your place could do with some redecorating.'

Goku – 'How about putting a fridge next to the bed?'

Toorah – 'You mean what's left of the bed.'

Mirai – 'Who needs a bed? There are plenty of bodies to sleep on.'

Toorah – 'Perv.'

Mirai – 'Sissy.'

Radditz, with a huge grin on his face – 'Kids…'

Vegeta – 'Don't get them any ideas, Radditz.'

Radditz – 'Who cares? I'm getting a bigger cave anyway!'

Vegeta grabs his head – 'Oh Kami, he's getting maternal…'

Laughter echoes through the cave. Outside, the sun sets in a blazing fire of purple and orange.

No one notices the dark purple mist that oozes into the Other Realm… Thinking that their hardship has come to an end at last, the Saiyan warriors sleep peacefully, dreaming of each other. Little do they know, the worst is yet to come.

Something dark has begun to stir and is finally breaking free from its spell.

Radditz' eyes twitch violently into his nightmare.

"**_With You_" by Linkin Park**

I woke up in a dream today

To the cold of the static - and put my cold feet on the floor

Forgot all about yesterday

Remembering I'm pretending to be where I'm not anymore

A little taste of hypocrisy

And I'm left in the wake of the mistake - slow to react

Even though you're so close to me

You're still so distant

And I can't bring you back

It's true - the way I feel

Was promised by your face

The sound of your voice

Painted on my memories

Even if you're not with me

I'm with you

You - Now I see - keeping everything inside

You - Now I see - even when I close my eyes

I hit you and you hit me back

We fall to the floor - the rest of the day stands still

Fine line between this and that

When things go wrong I pretend the past isn't real

Now I'm trapped in this memory

And I'm left in the wake of the mistake - slow to react

Even though you're close to me

You're still so distant

And I can't bring you back

No

No matter how far we've come

I can't wait to see tomorrow

No matter how far we've come

I can't wait to see tomorrow

With you

You - Now I see - keeping everything inside

You - Now I see - even when I close my eyes


End file.
